Why VAR did not overturn Bruno Fernandes red card despite Man United's successful appeal

Manchester United have been informed that VAR did not feel Premier League referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to send off Bruno Fernandes was 'clearly wrong' despite the Reds winning an appeal at a later date.

Fernandes was sent off during the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur after a challenge on James Maddison. The dismissal came during a terrible first half with United 1-0 down.

With ten men in the second half, the Reds went on to lose the game 3-0 in a match which put manager Erik ten Hag on the brink of the sack. Last week, the FA confirmed that Fernandes would not serve a three-match ban for the red card which led to questions as to why VAR did not intervene at the time.

READ MORE: United's bizarre tactic to overturn Fernandes red 'revealed'

READ MORE: Why is Fernandes not suspended for United

In the latest episode Match Officials Mic'd Up, PGMOL head Howard Webb was grilled as to what went wrong on the day that led to Fernandes wrongly being sent off. "The red card was correctly overturned on appeal," he admitted.

"We hear on the audio the assistant referee coming with the information around this being from his position, a red-card offence and the referee takes his advice and issues the red. When you look back on the footage, you see that the contact is high and Bruno Fernandes slips first and puts his foot out to stop Maddison.

"It’s not an attempt for the ball, from the assistant referee’s position - he’s got a good view, a nice open view, a better viewing angle then what the referee has got. [It] looks like there are studs there going into the shin and if there is it would be a red card but it’s just a slight mis-read.

"When the VAR checks it, he forms the opinion that the 'referee’s call' is not clearly wrong because he sees the action with the high contact, no attempt to play the ball, with some force and therefore decides in his professional judgment that the 'referee’s call' is not clearly wrong."

Try MUFC Pro NOW for free

Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N's unrivalled Manchester United coverage.

• No adverts, pop-ups or distractions - just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible.
• Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting breaking news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers
• Exclusive content for subscribers
• New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge.

Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on iPhone, or here on Android. If you already have our app, click on the ''MUFC Pro',' Subscribe' or ' Remove ads' links.

*Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.