Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has compared a recent potential red card to the one that was shown to Wolves star Joao Moutinho's a couple of weeks ago.
Nuno Santo's Wolves side face Manchester United in the Premier League this evening and any potential sending off for Bruno Fernandes against Leicester City would have meant that the Portuguese star wouldn't have been able to feature in tonight's match. The midfielder, however, stayed on the pitch against Leicester after scoring and assisting in the 2-2 draw.
Fernandes had already been booked but the former Sporting man evaded a second yellow despite a clear foul on Jonny Evans near the touchline (as per BBC Sport).
Wolves will be 'disappointed' with the Fernandes decision
Halsey, talking exclusively with Transfer Tavern about Fernandes and the fact that he wasn't sent off against Leicester. He compared the situation to that of Moutinho, who was shown a second yellow card against Aston Villa. Halsey believes that Moutinho got sent off for 'nothing' against Villa and Wolves fans would be 'disappointed' by the fact that Fernandes wasn't dismissed - especially since both decisions were made by referee Mike Dean.
The former referee said:
"I think Wolves fans will be disappointed because when they go back to Wolves versus Aston Villa a couple of weeks ago, Moutinho got sent off for a second yellow for nothing and that was Mike Dean too. I suppose Wolves fans will have a bit of a grudge against Mike but this is one of those things that is subjective. I think that Mike got [the Fernandes] one right, I wouldn’t want to see a player sent off for a second yellow card like that."
Moutinho had committed a foul on Villa's young star Jacob Ramsey and that led to his sending off as Santo's men lost the game 1-0 at home.
Fernandes' presence could harm Wolves
In the current campaign, Fernandes has picked up the fourth-highest rating in the Premier League - 7.67. He has scored ten goals while picking up six assists as well (as per Whoscored).
This shows the impact that the midfielder has had in the Premier League and his presence could harm Wolves since he wasn't sent off for his challenge on Evans.
Halsey has previously said that Moutinho didn't deserve a second yellow against Villa and while Fernandes wasn't sent off anyway, it is understandable why Wolves fans would feel undone by Dean because of rather inconsistent decision-making from the official meaning that one of United's best players will be free to play this evening.
In other news, Wolves have been linked with a move for Luka Jovic - read more about it here.