Bruno Fernandes has spoken out after the midfielder’s Portugal was eliminated from the World Cup following a shock 1-0 defeat to Morocco on Saturday.
Morocco are emerging as this tournament’s surprise team and the latest victory comes after Portugal were heavy favourites, especially after their stellar 6-1 win over Switzerland in the round of 16.
Fernandes was Portugal’s outstanding player in their run to the quarter-finals, scoring two goals and assisting a further three in just four appearances.
The 28-year-old was directly involved in five goals in the tournament, which meant that he became the first Portuguese player to do so since the World Cup in 1966.
He was one of several stars stopped by Morocco on Saturday, however, and speaking after the game, Fernandes has hit out at the referee for failing to add enough stoppage time. Furthermore, he has suggested that referees from countries still in the competition should not be allowed to make the decisions due to possible bias.
“We already know how it works… before the game we already knew what we were in for, and what kind of referee we would find,” Fernandes said, according to RFI.
“Unfortunately, in these competitions, where there are no Portuguese referees, there are referees from teams that are still in the competition.
“It seems strange to me, to say the least, but I don’t want to get into that, because that’s not the only reason we lost.
“The referee gave two minutes of injury time in the first half and eight in the second. In this second half, the game was stopped, at minimum, for between 15 and 20 minutes.”
“We knew that we would play against much more than just Morocco.”
SN’s verdict…
Fernandes is not the first player to complain about referees in this tournament and it’s fair to suggest that changes should be made to the protocol in time for the next tournament.
Nevertheless, Fernandes undeniably departs the World Cup as Portugal’s best player and Erik ten Hag will now be hoping that he takes that fine form with him to Old Trafford.
United resume their season in 11 days when Burnley make the trip to Old Trafford for a fourth-round Carabao Cup fixture. Premier League fixtures resumed just days later, with United facing Nottingham Forest in their first game.
