Ex-Fifa official: Referees will target Bruno Fernandes after critical Man United reveal
Referees will allow opposition players of Man United to get away with more against Bruno Fernandes, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed Fernandes’ reputation as a moaner will do him more harm than good.
The 28-year-old told the Athletic last week (20 August) that some officials like the way he moans on the pitch.
He insisted he wants the referee to know he is always “pressing him” and in his ear.
“We build up a catalogue, as referees, of who the moaning minnies are,” Hackett told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“We look at a team and think ‘Yes, him’. What we do is exactly what the players do. The players are trying to get in our zone and we stay out of theirs.
“The difficulty they’ve got is, they are operating to manager’s instructions and have a place in the team as to where they are going to play.
“The referee has got the freedom to go anywhere, relatively speaking. You can dodge, you can avoid and you can run away.
“If you start to try to create a dialogue, that’s how you lose concentration. Don’t engage.
“If you’ve experienced a player in a team that you are now re-refereeing in a different game, you know that player is in your face. The best thing to say is ‘You enjoy your game, I’m going to enjoy mine’ and move out, don’t engage.
“The other side is, because he’s in the mind’s eye of the referee, there is a greater concentration and the reward for him, might be more free-kicks against him.
“There’s a downside. He takes one and you say ‘Sorry about that, I missed it’. There are ways in which you can handle that situation, clearly.”
In other news, Man United have set their sights on signing an Aston Villa star and £45million will seal the deal.