Bruno Fernandes decision leads to Alan Shearer apology, Fulham star frustrated after being overlooked

Add as preferred source on Google

Bruno Fernandes was named BBC’s player of the match following Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat against Fulham.

Manchester United lost to Fulham on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.

The Cottagers opened the scoring on the brink of half-time when Calvin Bassey was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of United’s abysmal record defending set pieces.

United talisman Bruno Fernandes scored an equaliser after 71 minutes of play, yet again giving his teammates hope of a comeback.

Sadly, there was no comeback, as Marco Silva’s side went on to win the tie penalties to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno made himself the hero after denying Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee from the spot.

Alan Shearer apologies after Bruno Fernandes decision

Although United lost to Fulham on penalties, former Premier League striker turned pundit Alan Shearer named Fernandes as the BBC’s player of the match.

This sparked a reaction from Fulham defender Calvin Bassey, who scored the opening goal, with the 25-year-old taking to X to quote a post from the official FA Cup account.

Bassey wrote: “No man of the match [face with raised eyebrow emoji].”

Shearer has now felt compelled to apologise to Bassey after he had opted for Fernandes as his man of the match while on co-commentary for the BBC.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer explained: “I thought Calvin Bassey was very good.

“The problem is with man of the match, you’ve got to say it five minutes before the end. I’m thinking, ‘what do I do?’ I’ve got to give it before the penalties.”

Justifying his decision to give the award to Fernandes initially, Shearer explained: “So, I just thought Bruno’s got Man United back into the game with the one piece of quality that they needed.

“It was him who dragged them [back into it] and was playing all these probing passes.

“But if I could’ve waited until after the penalties, then it might have gone to Leno, and it perhaps should have gone to Calvin Bassey, who I thought was absolutely superb at centre-half.”

Then, Micah Richards argued that defenders are often overlooked for accolades after Shearer questioned whether players care about the player of the match awards. These awards probably mean less to players like Fernandes because they win they regularly.

“I send my apologies to Calvin Bassey, then,” Shearer said. “He should’ve got man of the match. There you go.”

Shearer reiterated his apology to Bassey as the podcast progressed.

He concluded: “I’ve already said, haven’t I? If it could’ve been given after penalties, it was either going to be [Bassey] or Bernd Leno because [Leno] pulled one great save off and obviously made the two penalty saves in the shootout.

“If it could’ve been after the penalties, then it would either have been him or Bernd Leno if we’d known they’d gone through. So, apologies, Calvin! I’ll give you it next time.”

Bruno Fernandes stats vs Fulham

It was a game to forget for United after crashing out of the FA Cup, but on an individual note, it showed how important Fernandes is to Ruben Amorim’s team.

Fernandes scored United’s only goal in normal time and it came as an important equaliser.

United were unable to find a winner in extra time before Fulham claimed victory in the penalty shootout.

That said, Fernandes was one of United’s best performers.