Bruno Fernandes Reveals How Referee Row Triggered His Crucial Penalty Disaster
Bruno Fernandes felt "provoked" and "frustrated" by what he perceived as unprofessional behavior from referee Chris Kavanagh in the lead-up to his penalty miss that sailed over the bar during Manchester United's 1-1 stalemate with Fulham on Sunday.
United earned the first-half spot kick after a VAR examination of Fulham defender Calvin Bassey's physical interference with Mason Mount during a set piece delivery—part of this season's stricter enforcement by officials regarding grappling and shirt-pulling inside the box.
However, as Fernandes meticulously positioned the ball and began his backward steps to measure his approach, Kavanagh casually strolled through his path and carelessly collided with the United skipper.
Fernandes appeared stunned as he stared at the official with visible frustration. He attempted to compose himself and restart his preparation, but subsequently launched his effort well over the goal.
The Portuguese midfielder stated following the match, which saw United surrender their advantage after initially going ahead through center-back Leny Yoro, that the incident couldn't serve as justification for his penalty failure. However, he acknowledged it had irritated him significantly.
"I was frustrated," Fernandes explained to Sky Sports.
"As someone who takes penalties, you follow your own rituals, your own procedures.
"It bothered me because the referee offered no apology and that's what provoked me at that moment. But that's no justification for the missed penalty. I simply made poor contact with the ball. I got my foot positioned too far underneath it and that's why it flew over the crossbar."
United continue without a Premier League victory after two matches in the new campaign. Ruben Amorim's team showed promise during last week's tight 1-0 loss to Arsenal and began encouragingly against Fulham as well. But despite United taking the lead shortly after the interval, the Cottagers were arguably the more dominant team in the second period and a tie was likely the most deserved outcome.