Replays showed Angulo had thrust an arm towards Fernandes’ face, with the Portuguese midfielder requiring treatment after the contact. However, Attwell let it go and VAR Peter Bankes decided against getting involved. It marks the latest contentious episode involving Attwell and United, following Old Trafford officials lodging a formal complaint over his failure to award a penalty for what they believed was a foul on Amad during the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth in March.
Michael Carrick said he hadn’t seen a replay of the latest incident when he spoke after the draw at Sunderland, but said Fernandes and his coaching staff were unhappy it hadn’t been punished.
“Bruno said there was contact and he wasn’t too happy about it when he came in,” he 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.”
“There’s not a lot of force in it, but I don’t understand why the player would run back and put his arm in and just put himself at risk,” Dean said when analysing the incident.
“I’m not sure what’s happening – they’ve obviously had a look at it; they’re not doing anything, they’ve just had a chat with Fernandes and check complete. You run the risk with VAR, that could have gone either way.”
Paul Merson, an expert on the panel, said: “They didn’t even book him, Mike.”
To which Dean offered a stunning response: “Well, it’s May isn’t it?”
Lead presenter Simon Thomas asked: “What? It might be May for you but the referee’s still got a job to do, hasn’t he?”
Dean then elaborated: “I’m just annoyed about decisions in games where they’re just not making decisions. Fulham’s a prime example today. Just a poor performance on the pitch.
“They’re just not making decisions on the pitch. Joking apart, May or not – that’s an easy decision to make. We’ve had a penalty shout five minutes before with Man United, that could have gone either way, a challenge in another game, they’re just not making decisions and I don’t know why that is.”
