Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, with Bruno Fernandes missing a penalty in the closing stages
Alan Shearer has claimed that Manchester United were hard done by due to a “terrible” refereeing decision in their 3-1 defeat against Brentford, managed by Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils found themselves in a difficult position after Igor Thiago netted twice in the first half, although Benjamin Sesko’s goal before half-time gave them some hope.
Bruno Fernandes was given a chance to level the score from the penalty spot after Bryan Mbeumo was fouled in the box by Nathan Collins. Despite the clear foul, the Republic of Ireland international only received a yellow card.
The United captain’s penalty was saved and in the dying moments of the game, Mathias Jensen extended Brentford’s lead.
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Shearer criticised the referee’s decision not to send off Collins during his analysis on Match of the Day. “So they should [be aggrieved]. Yes, they got the penalty but what they didn’t get, the officials, it should have been a red card as well,” he stated.
“They get it right in terms of the referee’s call: he gives the penalty for the pull back. But what they didn’t get right was the yellow card check for Collins.
“They deemed that Mbeumo wasn’t in control of the ball, I mean honestly, it’s just a terrible decision. He can’t be in control of the ball because someone is pulling him back, he’s a yard from the ball, clearly.
“Yes, [Fernandes] had to wait four-and-a-half minutes before getting to that decision but that’s a mistake from him. [Collins] should have been sent off – absolutely no doubt about it.”
The Premier League’s Match Centre account on X provided an explanation for the decision to award a penalty but not send off the Brentford defender, a decision Shearer disagreed with.
“The referee’s call of penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Collins deemed to pulled Mbeumo back,” the post read.
“VAR also checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Collins – and deemed that Mbeumo wasn’t in control of the ball.”
However, a community note – a feature of the social media website designed to prevent the spread of misinformation – seemingly dismissed the idea that Collins avoided a red card because it was determined that the United player “wasn’t in control of the ball.”
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
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