Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves have slammed Europa League referee Felix Zwayer for his decision to book Bruno Fernandes against Sevilla.
Fernandes was shown a yellow card after Nemanja Gudelj’s shot hit his arm despite the Manchester United midfielder being a maximum of two yards away.
The decision seemed harsh and means the Portugal international will now be suspended for the second leg after the first meeting ended in a 2-2 draw.
Former United midfielder Scholes was furious with Zwayer after the match as he told BT Sport: ‘Ridiculous… I thought the referee was poor all night.
‘Any sign of a foul, he couldn’t wait to get his yellow card out. Just give the free-kick. It’s not an intentional handball. He’s stood a yard away from him.’
Hargreaves added: ‘It’s a ridiculous decision from the ref. What’s Bruno supposed to do? It’s not a yellow card at all.’
Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was equally angry as he watched it unfold on BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘That’s not a yellow card,’ Schmeichel said. ‘The referee has just given a yellow card for something that is a red (Erik Lamela’s foul on Casemiro).
‘Fernandes threw himself at the ball but where is his hand supposed to go? I agree with the free kick but it is nowhere near a yellow card.’
United travel to Spain for the second leg on April 20 as they look to progress to the semi-finals.
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