Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been heavily criticised by former England winger Theo Walcott for his reaction to a penalty miss against Fulham, with Walcott branding his behaviour a 'child's response'. The criticism came before United's shock Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town on Wednesday night.
During Sunday's 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage, Fernandes was awarded a penalty after a VAR check. As he prepared to take the spot-kick, he collided with referee Chris Kavanagh, which he later said 'upset' him and disrupted his routine. He subsequently blazed the ball over the bar and confronted Kavanagh at half-time.
Speaking on the podcast 'It's Called Soccer!', Walcott said: 'I look at it like this, it's a child's response. It was a natural child reaction which you would expect. But he's a professional athlete who's the captain of Manchester United football club, he needs to be stronger.' Walcott suggested Fernandes should be removed from penalty duties and perhaps even the captaincy.
Fernandes told Sky Sports: 'It upset me because the referee didn't apologise and that was what triggered me in the moment, but that's not the excuse to miss a penalty.' United boss Ruben Amorim acknowledged the impact, saying: 'He was not so happy, not so involved, because he has so much responsibility.'
Fernandes did not start the Carabao Cup match against Grimsby but came on in the second half of a 2-2 draw. He scored twice in the penalty shootout, but new signing Bryan Mbeumo missed the decisive spot-kick, sending United out. Fernandes was seen consoling Mbeumo after the defeat.
