Bruno Fernandes’ on-field antics have once again sparked debate amongst football fans and pundits alike, this time over what was undoubtedly a very ‘soft’ penalty against Wigan Athletic which helped Manchester United into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Man United won 2-0 against the local side at the DW Stadium on Monday night, thanks to a lovely curled finish into the bottom corner from Diogo Dalot and the controversial spot kick, but it’s fair to say they were wasteful on the night and should have grabbed more.
With multiple missed chances from Rasmus Højlund before the penalty, the longer the game stayed at 1-0, the more it looked like they were pushing their luck and that Wigan might go up the other end and equalise — which made the tide-turning penalty even more frustrating for the home fans.
Going under very visible contact, albeit rather light and minimal, Fernandes‘ penalty has left many arguing both sides: was it a clear penalty under the laws of the game or a pantomime dive from a crafty creative midfielder? We’ll let you decide:
Let’s just say he isn’t a stranger to a bit of theatrics.
As you can see, the consensus in the ITV studio after the game from former United man Roy Keane, Arsenal legend Ian Wright and even ex-Wigan coach Roberto Martinez was that although awarding a penalty was technically the correct decision, it was “clever”, to say the least.
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The fact that it was widely publicised that there was no VAR on the night arguably makes Bruno’s behaviour on the pitch even more shrewd, as he will no doubt have taken that into account before the game and in the moment he decided to go down, no matter how little contact he received.
You won’t find many football fans, Red or otherwise, vehemently defending it as an ‘obvious’ pen and we’re sure most reasonable supporters would have understood had it ultimately been overturned — but the fact is, under the current state of refereeing, you can only really depend on the very letter of the law.
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Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped people from criticising the Portuguese player for diving (something he’s fairly used to these days) and claiming he dived.
🗣️ 'That should be enough'
Bruno Fernandes has scored a controversial penalty to take Manchester United 2-0 up at Wigan in the FA Cup 3rd round ⚽ pic.twitter.com/SIU8utdInP
Fellow pundit Danny Murphy said, “By giving those penalties, we are encouraging players to dive with any, any contact. There was not enough contact to send him over”, adding, “It is an exaggerated fall, it is an awful decision”.
Latcis and League One followers, in general, made their feelings known on social media, with one account posting: “Feel sorry for Wigan Athletic after Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes had to cheat to get a penalty against the League One side. On the other hand, what a shift the Tics players did last night. The whole team should be proud”.
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What did you make of it — a clever bit of play-acting from a pro doing whatever he needs to do to help his team win, or a dive that only further adds to the problematic culture of simulation?
You can the highlights from Wigan Athletic vs Man United down below:
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Danny Jones -
9th January 2024 
