Bruno Fernandes has issued a statement after the team he played for, Portugal, was eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday after suffering a sh/o/c/k/ing loss to Morocco by the score of 1-0.
Morocco are quickly becoming the tournament’s dark horse, and this latest victory comes after Portugal were considered to be heavy favorites, particularly after their impressive 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16.
Fernandes was Portugal’s best player during their run to the quarterfinals. In just four matches, he scored twice and assisted on three more goals, making him the team’s most valuable player.
The Portuguese player, who is now 28 years old, was directly involved in five goals during the competition. As a result, he became the first Portuguese player since the World Cup in 1966 to accomplish this feat.
However, he was one of several stars who were stopped by Morocco on Saturday. Speaking after the game, Fernandes criticized the referee for not adding enough stoppage time to the game. In addition to this, he has proposed that referees from countries that are still competing in the competition should not be allowed to make the decisions because of the possibility of bias.
“We are already familiar with how it operates… According to what Fernandes was quoted as saying by RFI, “before the game we already knew what we were in for, and what kind of referee we would find.”
“Unfortunately, there are referees from teams that are still in the competition serving in these competitions where there are no Portuguese referees.
“To say the least, it seems strange to me, but I don’t want to get into that because that’s not the only reason we lost.” “I don’t want to get into that because that’s not the only reason we lost.
“The referee allotted eight minutes of injury time in the second half, compared to two minutes in the first half. The second half of the match was delayed for a period of at least fifteen to twenty minutes due to a delay in play.
We were aware that we would be competing against a much wider range of teams than just Morocco.
SN’s verdict…
Because Fernandes is not the only player in this tournament to have issues with the referees, it is reasonable to suggest that adjustments should be made to the protocol in order to have them in place for the following tournament.
Nevertheless, Fernandes unquestionably finishes the World Cup as Portugal’s best player, and Erik ten Hag will now be hoping that he brings that fine form with him to Old Trafford. The World Cup was held in Russia from June 14 to July 15.
In eleven days, United will begin their season at home against Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The match will take place at Old Trafford. After just a few days, the regular season of the Premier League got back underway, and Manchester United’s first game was against Nottingham Forest.