A referee support charity has called for Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes to face a ban after he pushed a linesman during the Reds' defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.
Fernandes and United endured a nightmare afternoon at Anfield as the Reds were thrashed 7-0 by Jurgen Klopp's side in their Premier League clash. Liverpool managed their biggest-ever competitive win against the Reds, while Erik ten Hag's side have now gone eight games without a win at Liverpool.
During the second half of the encounter, Fernandes, who was captaining United in Harry Maguire's absence, nudged the official close to the touchline after a decision went against him. There were calls for the incident to be investigated, but the Portuguese ace has escaped any punishment.
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The FA have confirmed that no action will be taken against the 28-year-old because it was spotted by referee Andy Madley and his assistants and was not included in their report.
Despite this, Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK, which is dedicated to independent training, support and development of referees, insisted that Fernandes should be banned for at least five matches - claiming that his behaviour towards the official was unacceptable.
"I think he’s got to be looking at at least a five-game ban," he told the PA news agency. "To get in contact with a match official is a serious offence and should be treated such way. I think that would be absolutely appropriate. There’s got to be a strong message here that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable at any level at all, and I hope the Football Association make that clear.
"I think the message here that the FA needs to send out is one that continues the good work they’re doing currently in regards to protecting match officials, with the bodycam trial."
He added: "Fernandes to me is typical of what seems to be happening in the game, this entitlement behaviour, you can just do what you want. His position as captain I think is untenable with his behaviours, and I think if he thinks it’s appropriate for the captain of such an illustrious club as Manchester United to behave in such a manner, then the game’s in a terrible state."
With the assistant appearing to put his hand on Fernandes' arm just before the incident, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher admitted he had "mixed feelings" about what had happened during the clash.
He told Sky Sports: "You don’t want a player to be manhandling a match official, but I would suggest the assistant actually manhandles Fernandes more than he did. I think once the official does it first, Fernandes is almost like fly swatting, 'get out of my way, I want to get on with it'.
"So whilst I don’t condone it…and I think the referee (Andrew Madley) is in a difficult position, because if he goes across and makes an issue of it, Fernandes is likely to say ‘well, he grabbed hold of me first’. It is difficult."
Fernandes came under intense scrutiny from former United duo Roy Keane and Gary Neville in the Sky Sports studio after the game, with the pair criticising his attitude during the match.
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