'Phil Foden was unlucky, Bruno Fernandes is the one who should have been given red card'

Bruno Fernandes and Phil Foden should have both been booked and told to play on in Manchester City's 1-0 derby win over Manchester United on Sunday.

That is the opinion of experienced former Everton, Aston Villa and Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

Instead, Foden was shown a straight red cared by Michael Oliver and the Citizens would be forced to play with 10 men for over 70 minutes, ultimately winning anyway through Erling Haaland's highly controversial goal.

VAR has taken huge criticism in the aftermath of the game, but the decisions surrounding the 26-year-old's red card have flown under the radar slightly.

Some have argued that Fernandes should have seen red as well, after he appeared to aim a slight kick at Foden, seemingly prompting the reaction.

Should the midfielder's ban be upheld, he will be suspended for matches against Norwich, Sunderland and away at Liverpool.

Michael Oliver 'ruined the game'

Oliver's decision to send Foden off was certainly not a surprising one, considering it has precedent.

Villa midfielder Joao Gomes was sent off against Brighton on the opening weekend, after he kicked upwards in a similar manner.

Yet critics pointed to Fernandes' role in the incident, and there certainly was not as much contact as there had been in other examples.

"This is a big game. Manchester United, Manchester City, they don't get much bigger," King told Football Insider. "24 minutes, there's an incident between two players. It ends up, one gets a red card. Now, for me, the situation was, okay, it's a derby.

"It's a big derby. They're going to go flying the tackles. People are going to come in a bit late, mistime, etc. But you don't kick somebody when he's down and you don't retaliate, as Foden did, in a way that's as ridiculous as what David Beckham did in the World Cup.

"That incident was two yellow cards and get on with it, for me. Now, this decision-making is going to have to stop. Either they can do VAR properly or forget it. Because at the moment, it's a joke.

"If anybody was going to have a red card, it should have been him [Fernandes]. You know the way Foden's going to react. He's more passionate than anybody about a Manchester City, a Manchester derby.

"And the way he was put on the floor, okay, he who retaliates suffers. That we've said for 50 years in football. But for that incident to warrant a straight red card, I mean, you know, it's ruined the game.

"You've got 75,000 people at the match. Why should the referee be the central part of it? The referee, they always say the best referees are the ones who are not noticed. Well, I tell you, the referee, he always seems to be involved in a controversial decision."

What Phil Foden has said since

Foden was captured on camera holding his hands up to signal 1-0 as he walked away from Old Trafford on Sunday.

The midfielder did not help his team, but will have been immensely relieved that they were able to win regardless.

"Unbelievable performance from the lads," Foden wrote on Instagram after the game.

"Gutted I didn’t get to play my part properly. Proud to be Blue."