Bruno Fernandes has felt the wrath of Paul Scholes after his red card against Tottenham. Scholes criticised theManchester United captain's petulant antics and tendency to vacate his position following his straight red in the first half on Sunday.
Fernandes' sending off for a poor challenge on James Maddison formed part of a dismal afternoon for the Red Devils, who succumed to a woeful 3-0 defeat. The Portuguese star's dismissal is another blow in what has been an underwhelming season for the 30-year-old, who has failed to find the net in nine appearances across all competitions.
Scholes, discussing United's third league loss, criticised Fernandes for his persistent petulance and tendency to abandon his assigned position during games. "Look, I think that he needs to play with more discipline, there's no doubt," Scholes said. "When I say discipline, I mean the position where he plays on the football pitch. As a number 10, he has the responsibility to make his team play good football," reports the Manchester Evening News.
He pointed out that Fernandes often leaves his crucial number 10 spot, dropping into midfield or even appearing at left-back or right-back, which disrupts the team's structure and strategy. Despite his critique, the 11-time Premier League champion showed some understanding towards Fernandes' sending off, claiming that referee Chris Kavanagh was too hasty in brandishing the red card.
"It wasn't a sending off, there's no doubt about that. I think the referee acted a little bit hastily, he was a bit too quick to go for it without actually having a little word with his linesman and thinking about it," the former England star added. Scholes, however, lambasted Fernandes' rash behaviour which resulted in United being reduced to 10 men, expressing scepticism over whether the captain can eliminate this aspect from his play.
"But again, it was petulant and it gave the referee an opportunity to do it," said the Salford City co-owner. "We've seen a lot of petulance from our captain over the last couple of years, throwing arms about and he knows himself that it needs to get out of his game, but realistically, is that going to happen?
"He's of an age where you don't really change that much. The captain has to set an example and yesterday just wasn't good enough." Following his dismissal, Fernandes is set to miss United's upcoming three league games next month against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham.