Fernandes Anger Over Late Elbow Incident in United's Draw

A drab, goalless afternoon at the Stadium of Light ended with Manchester United simmering over the officials once again, as Bruno Fernandes was left angered by a late elbow that went unpunished.

In the closing stages of the 0-0 draw with Sunderland, substitute Nilson Angulo swung an arm towards Fernandes as they tangled, catching the United captain in the face. The contact left the Portuguese midfielder needing treatment on the pitch. It left him even more incensed once the final whistle blew.

Referee Stuart Attwell waved play on. VAR Peter Bankes stayed silent. No foul, no card, no review.

Inside the dressing room, Fernandes made his feelings clear to teammates and staff, unhappy that neither the on-field officials nor the video assistant had intervened after the clash with the Black Cats forward. Replays showed Angulo thrusting his arm in the direction of Fernandes’ face, but the incident was effectively ignored.

For United, it felt like a familiar story.

Attwell is already under scrutiny at Old Trafford after the club lodged a formal complaint over his handling of the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth in March, focusing on his decision not to award a penalty for what United believed was a foul on Amad. The Sunderland flashpoint has only deepened the sense of frustration around his recent calls involving the club.

Michael Carrick, speaking after the stalemate, admitted he had not yet seen a replay of the Angulo–Fernandes incident but made no attempt to hide the mood in the United camp.

“Bruno said there was contact and he wasn't too happy about it when he came in,” Carrick said. “The staff on the bench weren't too happy with it as well.

“I don't know, I'm getting a little bit confused with what's going on really, so I'm maybe better off staying out of it.”

Confused, irritated, and now twice aggrieved in as many months by the same referee, United left Wearside with a point on the board but another question hanging over the consistency of the decisions going against their captain.