Nicky Butt could not be more tone-deaf to how Man Utd fans feel after his Bruno Fernandes argument – opinion

Nicky Butt has well and truly missed the mark for his wild take on Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s defeat to Manchester City on Sunday evening.

Bruno Fernandes was unable to score or assist in the first Manchester derby of the campaign, but the 32-year-old Manchester United captain did make his mark.

The Portugal international brought Phil Foden down in an initial challenge in the first half and made further contact on the lower back of the Man City midfielder.

Phil Foden retaliated after he thrust both of his feet into Fernandes’ stomach and the United skipper subsequently collapsed onto the floor of the pitch in response.

Pro Ref (formerly PGMO) have admitted Erling Haaland's goal should NOT have stood

Referee Michael Oliver wasted no time in brandishing a red card for Phil Foden and the 26-year-old Manchester City star marched straight down the Old Trafford tunnel.

City were left to see out the remainder of the Premier League match with 10 men and Enzo Maresca’s men managed to come out on top against Manchester United.

Speaking on his podcast, Nicky Butt suggested that Fernandes should have been sent off alongside Foden for his role in the first-half altercation at Old Trafford.

“The biggest thing is when it goes to VAR, how can they not see the kick from Bruno?” he asked on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

“As a Man United fan, I don’t want Bruno sent off, but how can they not see that and go, he’s booted him in the backside, and then we were talking off air with James [Milner] before, and if you react, which you shouldn’t do, but you do, you react and you get punished for it.”

The former Man Utd and England midfielder added: “But, it started with Bruno was the aggressor, wasn’t he? And whether you like it or not, he was the aggressor. So, then look at VAR, but at that time the ref could have missed that; his angle, like, it was at, but once it goes to TV, and I don’t know how many people are in VAR, is it two, three people? How can they not see that?

“And then basically, they either say, look, they both need sending off, or they’re both staying on, and that’s it. Then there’s 10 v 10, or it’s 11 v 11, and it’s a great derby.”

There is a difference between the follow-up kicks that Fernandes did while Foden was on the floor and the WWE-esque dropkick that the United captain received.

It is a real head-scratcher for Butt to try and argue a case for Fernandes’ role in that situation with Foden after the bigger VAR controversy from the Manchester derby.

United fans are still rightfully irked about the shocking decision by VAR for Erling Haaland’s second-half Premier League winner against the Red Devils at Old Trafford.

VAR checked the initial incident and saw that Fernandes had done nothing wrong and Premier League referee Michael Oliver spotted nothing unusual in his initial call.

Playing devil’s advocate is one thing, but there must be reasonable substance to do such a thing — and the Fernandes situation is quite clearly not the example for it.

Butt needs to read the room better and share in United fans’ frustrations over the more ridiculous decision that came from the Red Devils’ 1-0 defeat to Man City.