Erik ten Hag calls for Fulham to apologise for mocking Bruno Fernandes in social media post

Erik ten Hag has labelled Fulham's TikTok video mocking Bruno Fernandes as 'not right' and has called on the club to apologise.

The London club posted a TikTok of Fernandes in the latter stages of Saturday's 2-1 win at Old Trafford, which appeared to imply the Manchester United midfielder was feigning injury. Fernandes went down under a challenge from Sasa Lukic and lay on the floor for around 10 seconds until the ball came in his direction, at which pointed he got back to his feet and played on.

The caption that accompanied the post said: "So glad to see he’s ok," which infuriated Old Trafford officials. United felt the clip showed Fernandes' willingness to play through pain rather than any histrionics. The club are also of the view that Fulham's video highlights how Fernandes soldiered on to finish the game and also played the full 90 minutes against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, despite still suffering the effects of the knock.

Ten Hag said after the FA Cup at the City Ground that Fernandes' coverage on social media has been 'pathetic' and was pushed further on the matter ahead of the Manchester derby.

Asked about Fulham's post, Ten Hag said: "So I didn’t know this but if they did it I would say it is not right. It is absolutely not right that a club makes such [a] statement because it is totally out of order and they were wrong so they should apologise for this.

"I thought it was definitely on Saturday a foul and it was really misjudged from media, from social media, to blame him for that," he added. "That was my point yesterday and then opponents are targeting him and that is not right. I think the referee should protect himself because there were fouls on him, even after the ball was kicked away.

"He is a very passionate football player and he’s a very creative one, he has created the most chances in the Premier League," Ten Hag continued, when asked about Fernandes. "You see opponents are targeting him and especially after Saturday when he had the knock and they see it and then I feel, yeah, the referee should protect him there. They had to change at the start of the game because it was so obvious they were looking for him."