Copenhagen ace Moi Elyounoussi believes his criticism of Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has been blown out of all proportion in the aftermath of that dramatic Champions League clash.
Now, the former Southampton and Celtic forward is not the first to take umbridge with the Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes letting the referee know exactly how he felt about the official’s performance during a 4-3 thriller littered with bizarre calls and VAR controversy.
Elyounoussi, following the Dane’s late comeback, accused Fernandes of ‘complaining and whining’. Comments which made headlines from Copenhagen to Castlefield.
But, in a follow up interview with Nettavisen, the Norway international has now attempted to calm the storm, explaining that he and Fernandes put their differences aside at full-time.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes under fire
“I think it’s a bit stupid that it became such a big deal,” Elyounoussi explains. “I meant it when I said it. But all players come forward and complain about referees, whether they are right or not.
“If we had received a penalty against us, I would have approached the referee myself!
“We changed shirts after the game, so I have nothing against him. On the contrary, we had a nice chat afterwards,” the winger adds with a smile. “So we changed shirts, and then he read in the newspaper afterwards that I slaughtered him.”
Now wearing the armband on a permanent basis after Harry Maguire was stripped of the captaincy over the summer, Fernandes’ tendency to let his emotion get the better of him has seen many a pundit cast doubt on his suitability for such a high-pressure role.
‘Not captain material’
“I would take the captaincy off him 100 per cent,” former Red Devils skipper Roy Keane told Sky Sports after that 3-0 derby defeat by Manchester City. “Fernandes is not captain material.
“He is a talented player, no doubt about it. But what I saw today – we’ve discussed many times before, it was last season at Liverpool – his whinging, his moaning and throwing his arms up in the air constantly.
“It really isn’t acceptable. From what we saw today, I’m thinking I would take that off him.”
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