Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, hinted at blaming the referee for his missed penalty during his team’s match against Fulham in the English Premier League. Fernandes took the penalty awarded by referee Chris Kavanagh but shockingly missed as his powerful shot went well over the goal while the score was still 0-0. Before taking the kick, Fernandes collided with Kavanagh, which affected his concentration according to his post-match statements highlighted by the British newspaper “The Sun”. Fernandes said, “Every penalty has its own routine and things I do.” He added, “It bothered me because the referee did not apologize, which embarrassed me at that moment.” He admitted, “But that is no excuse for missing the penalty, it was a bad shot from me. I placed my foot under the ball too much, which is why it went over the bar.

We cannot be satisfied with just one point; it is disappointing not to win.” Unfortunately for Bruno, Fulham equalized through Emil Smith Rowe after the Red Devils had taken the lead with an own goal by Rodrigo Muniz in the 58th minute. Manchester United coach Rúben Amorim expressed his disappointment with the draw and stressed the need to quickly rectify the situation. Amorim said, “We need to mature a lot, I mean the team; we scored the goal, then forgot how to play. Everyone was thinking about maintaining the lead and trying to win the match.” The Portuguese coach added, “We were not smart at that moment.

Fernandes bears a lot of responsibility, and I felt sorry when he missed the penalty, but we must move forward no matter what.” Amorim’s win rate with Manchester United in the Premier League is 24.1%, with 7 wins in 29 matches since he took over in November 2024, gathering a modest total of only 28 points. Manchester United currently occupies 16th place in the standings after two rounds of the new 2025-2026 season, following a 0-1 loss to Arsenal in the first match and a 1-1 draw with Fulham in the second.