Bruno Fernandes is once again being called out for diving after yet another clip of his theatrical behaviour on the pitch has gone viral on social media.
The phrase déjà vu comes to mind.
The Manchester United star is no stranger to this kind of accusation and often irritates football fans with his on-field antics, Reds included, with his propensity for the so-called ‘dark arts’.
In a word, he’s what those who watch the sport typically call a ‘sh*thouse’ and love it or hate it, those characters are a part of the game that isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon.
All that being said, this particular clip of his conduct in the Fulham game doesn’t exactly colour him in the best light and it could arguably be one of his worst bits of pageantry to date:
Unsurprisingly, this latest example of Bruno Fernandes‘ diving has been labelled everything from “shocking” and “embarrassing” to “pathetic” and “ridiculous”, as well as being accused of cheating online from various fan bases and even some of his own supporters.
It’s hard to argue with any of those descriptions either, especially when this is by no means the first time he’s come under fire for similar behaviour. This isn’t even the first time we’ve written about it, having been hit with almost identical adjectives based on last season’s performances too.
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The 29-year-old Portuguese midfielder remains one of Man United and the Premier League’s most creative players but as one commenter put it: “Moments like these are why Bruno Fernandes get disrespected by rival fans and referees hardly take him seriously… a cheating sore loser to a lot”.
Another went so far as to question, “Isn’t it about time they start dishing out some retrospective punishments for blatant cheating like this?”
It wasn’t too long ago that club legend Roy Keane called out the current United captain for multiple aspects of his game as well, diving being just one of them.
Replying to the original clip, another account wrote: “Players like this make refereeing the game nigh on impossible. This stuff needs calling out every week by pundits, regardless of who it is or what club they play for” — and it seems many others would also back the idea of retrospective punishment for diving.
You can go back throughout his time at Old Trafford to find plenty of other examples of his simulation and while it is part of football, it’s one of the biggest criticisms levelled against the sport and far from what makes it ‘the beautiful game’.
Fernandes is just a drop in the ocean when it comes to the countless players trying to con the referee around the world week in and week out, but this almost chronic level of diving being highlighted on the biggest stage does pose the question of whether more needs to be done to crack down on it after the fact?
You can watch the highlights of Man United’s 1-2 loss to Fulham at home down below:
Featured Images — @Gidge11 (via X)/Sky Sports (via Screenshot)
Sport
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Danny Jones -
25th February 2024 
