Lee Dixon has provided insight into why he thinks Bruno Fernandes managed to escape a second yellow card during the intense clash between Liverpool and Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford. In a match where both teams were vying for a spot in the semi-finals alongside Manchester City, Coventry, and Chelsea, the stakes were high.
After Scott McTominay put United ahead early in the game, Liverpool quickly equalized with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah just before halftime. Fernandes found himself in the thick of the action, receiving a booking after Salah’s goal. Shortly thereafter, he was involved in a tackle on Dominik Szoboszlai early in the second half, prompting questions about whether he should have received a second yellow card.
Despite committing what seemed like a foul, Fernandes was not shown a second yellow card, leaving many to speculate about the reasons behind the referee’s decision. Dixon, providing co-commentary for the game, described Fernandes as “fortunate” to have avoided being sent off, noting the absence of Liverpool players surrounding the referee.
Dixon pointed out that while Fernandes’s actions were risky, they were not uncommon on the pitch. He suggested that such incidents are typically reviewed by VAR but, in this case, it did not intervene to suggest that the referee reconsider his decision and issue Fernandes a red card. This led Dixon to emphasize Fernandes’s luck in escaping punishment.
According to Dixon, if the incident had occurred elsewhere on the field and Fernandes had not already been booked, he would have likely received a yellow card without hesitation. He underscored this by stating that if a similar situation had unfolded on the halfway line, the referee would not have hesitated to issue a yellow card.
