Manchester United unhappy over Bruno Fernandes booking vs Tottenham

Manchester United are unhappy with Michael Oliver's refusal to engage with captain Bruno Fernandes during their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham.

Fernandes, as captain, is entitled to approach a referee and when the Portuguese queried a yellow card for teammate Antony in the 38th minute, he was swiftly booked.

United manager Erik ten Hag was also cautioned at full-time by Oliver, who booked three United players inside five minutes in the first half. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Antony were carded for fouls while Fernandes went into the book for dissent.

Fernandes, who has gained a reputation for irking officials with his backchat, demanded an apology after the game from referees' chief Jon Moss over Oliver's failure to award United a first-half penalty.

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With the game goalless, Alejandro Garnacho's goalbound shot hit Cristian Romero's outstretched arm but Oliver gave a corner and the VAR Craig Pawson did not advise him to check the monitor.

There is some concern at United that Fernandes is gaining an unfair reputation that could affect his dealings with officials going forward.

Fernandes is renowned for his in-game interrogations of referees, who have been been instructed to crack down on dissent this season.

If more than one player approaches the referee, at least one of those players will be shown a yellow card and any player that runs from a distance will also be booked.

Fernandes has served four one-game suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards during his United career but he has never been sent off for the club.

The Portugal international was booked for dissent twice last season in the defeats at Brentford and Manchester City. Oliver was the referee in the derby.