The challenge on James Maddison that resulted in his dismissal during Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to Tottenham, according to Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, was “never a red card.”

A month that began with a humiliating loss to rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford concluded with another crushing defeat to Spurs, who are among the top four, by the same score.

In a lopsided first half that concluded with Fernandes being sent off for a challenge on Maddison, Brennan Johnson handed the visitors an early lead.

Referee Chris Kavanagh gave a straight red card for serious foul play; VAR Peter Bankes validated this verdict. Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored more goals for Spurs after the break.

Fernandes said to Sky Sports as he was being sent off, “Aside from slipping going in, I don’t take him as everyone wants to see it.”

I take him by the ankle; I don’t go with the studs. There’s a blatant foul, but no red card. That’s how I feel.

“Even Madison, as you can see in the picture, merely remarked, ‘It’s a foul but it’s never a red card,’ when he stood up. That was his statement.

“I believe that everyone can understand that this is never a red card because, if it is, I believe we need to look at a lot of other occurrences.

“I’ve been kicked and all a lot of other things have happened to me, but I’ve never seen something earn a red card so quickly. I simply believe that it’s never a red flag.

When asked if he was surprised to see the red card, Fernandes replied, “Yeah, I think it’s a foul.”

“There isn’t even that much contact. I agree if he wants to give me a yellow as it’s a counterattack.

“After that, I fail to see why VAR doesn’t bring the referee up on screen. It’s just not a very wise choice in my opinion. That is all.

Due to his dismissal, Fernandes will miss the Premier League games against Brentford and West Ham as well as the trip to Aston Villa next weekend.

“I left my teammates one man short, but I’m grateful for everything they did on the pitch, even though it was clearly harder for them,” the United captain, who is available for Thursday’s Europa League match against Porto, added.

“We didn’t play properly in the first 11 v 11, so when the score was decided in their favour, we were given the red card.

“They tried, and they did very well.” We obviously gave up two more goals, but it was challenging to cover every area.

“However, I believe there are a lot of positive things we can learn from this. The team’s resiliency was evident at all times, and I am incredibly proud of them.”