Carragher condemns Fernandes for 'disappointing' reaction that sparked Foden's red card in derby

Jamie Carragher has publicly condemned Bruno Fernandes for his conduct during the incident that resulted in Phil Foden’s red card in Manchester City’s derby victory over Manchester United.

Foden was shown a straight red card after aiming a kick at Fernandes’ midriff, a reaction that followed the United captain leaving the City midfielder on the ground after a touchline coming-together. Fernandes had sent his foot into the small of Foden’s back before Foden’s violent response ended his afternoon. Erling Haaland went on to win the game for City, with the red card and a highly dubious VAR intervention dominating the post-match discussion.

Fernandes escaped punishment for his part in the clash, and Carragher used his Monday Night Football platform to make his feelings clear.

“What I would say is two yellows would have been fine. But I was really disappointed with Bruno Fernandes,” Carragher said. “There’s a lot of things in football that we like or we don’t like. My big one that I really don’t like is people going down, pretending they’re hurt. But doing that… I can’t have it.”

Carragher was quick to pre-empt accusations of bias, pointing to a previous incident involving Harry Kane. “I know there will be Manchester United fans watching this saying: ‘Oh it’s because he’s a Manchester United player, it’s because he’s a foreign player’. On this show about five or six years ago Harry Kane did the same in a game between Tottenham and Everton and I said the same. I’m not having the reaction from Bruno there — it was a brush from his foot.”

Roy Keane had already voiced similar concerns at half-time on Sunday, arguing that Fernandes was the more culpable party. “Foden gets up and reacts obviously so he’s now sent off. The strange thing is, if you look at it, Bruno catches him, gives the foul away and gives him a little kick. To me, Bruno is the one who’s violent here,” Keane said. “I called Kyle Walker out a few years ago when he went down with a headbutt. I don’t think that’s a red card for Foden.”

Fernandes has not publicly responded to the criticism. The incident is likely to remain a flashpoint in the debate around simulation and provocation in the Premier League, particularly given that the United captain avoided any retrospective action from the Football Association.