Bruno Fernandes accused of ‘sitting on his bum and whinging’ after being subbed

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes looked unhappy to be withdrawn during extra-time of the FA Cup semi-final vs Brighton but pundit Danny Murphy felt it was the right decision by Erik ten Hag

Posted Monday, April 24, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Bruno Fernandes accused of ‘sitting on his bum and whinging’ after being subbed
Bruno Fernandes during the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton

Bruno Fernandes was accused of 'sitting on his bum and whinging' by pundit Danny Murphy as the Manchester United captain was brought off during the FA Cup semi-final.

The Portuguese star had a decent game against Brighton but he wasn't on the pitch as the match went to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes. Eleven minutes into the extra-time, he was replaced by striker Wout Weghorst, who had major say on the outcome by scoring his penalty and then being credited for putting off Solly March before his shootout-defining miss.

Fernandes looked decidedly grumpy as he came off and was spoken to by his manager Erik ten Hag. However, Murphy, who was on co-commentary duty for the BBC, felt it was the right decision at the right time.

As Fernandes trudged off, the former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder said: "Two or three times he hasn't tracked back. He's sat on his bum watching other people track back for him while he's whinging, so it's probably the right decision.

"He's been terrific for a lot of the game, Bruno Fernandes, but nobody's got a God-given right to stay on the pitch when you're not doing your defending and you're not doing it well."

Bruno Fernandes is spoken to by Erik ten Hag after being subbed against Brighton

However, some United fans did not agree with Murphy's comments, with one tweeting: "Calling Bruno Fernandes lazy just as the stat comes up that he's covered more ground than anyone else is peak Danny Murphy."

Another added: "Tired yeah, lazy noooooo.." A third said: "Rolled his ankle and then played nearly 2 hours and got moved out to RW to mark their very offensive LB. Seems harsh from Murphy but I'm not surprised."

BBC pundit Danny Murphy

Fernandes seemed to bounce back from the disappointment of being withdrawn quickly as he was seen issuing passionate words of encouragement to his team-mates at half-time of extra-time.

He then joined in with the wild celebrations after Victor Lindelof drilled home the tie-winning spot-kick.