Manchester City supporters have reacted angrily after Howard Webb backed Phil Foden’s red card in the Manchester derby while admitting Bruno Fernandes should have been booked for the kick that preceded the incident.
Foden was dismissed during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory at Old Trafford after kicking out at Fernandes. Webb, the Premier League’s chief refereeing officer, agreed that the City forward’s action constituted violent conduct and deserved a red card.
However, Webb also acknowledged that Fernandes’ initial kick was a yellow-card offence. VAR could not intervene because the referee had already dealt with the incident by sending Foden off.
That explanation did little to calm City supporters.
Instead, the reaction to the City Xtra post was dominated by frustration, disbelief and accusations of inconsistent treatment.
Howard Webb backs Phil Foden red card
The controversy centres on the sequence of events involving Foden and Fernandes.
According to the VAR review, Fernandes initially fouled Foden before appearing to kick him as the two players became entangled.
Foden then reacted by kicking Fernandes in the upper body.
Michael Oliver immediately showed Foden a red card for violent conduct.
Webb has now backed that decision.
He said Foden “kicks out with force” and agreed that the incident met the threshold for violent conduct. At the same time, Webb described Fernandes’ initial kick as “petulant” rather than violent and said it should have resulted in a yellow card.
The key issue for City supporters is therefore not necessarily whether Foden should have been punished.
It is whether Fernandes should have received punishment too.
Webb explained that VAR cannot intervene simply to award a yellow card when the referee has already made an on-field decision.
That distinction became the centre of the debate.
“Gaslighting of the highest order”
The City fan reaction was immediate.
One supporter, Matt, described Webb’s explanation as:
“Gaslighting of the highest order 🤯”
Another supporter, Jimmy Mack, was even more direct:
“What a load of BS.”
Those responses capture the mood among several City fans.
For supporters watching the incident, the frustration comes from what they see as an imbalance in the punishment.
Foden’s reaction was punished with a red card.
Fernandes’ initial involvement was acknowledged by Webb as worthy of a yellow card, yet no booking was issued during the match.
That difference is difficult for many supporters to accept, particularly because Fernandes’ action came before Foden’s response.
City fans question the consistency
The central criticism from supporters is about consistency.
If Fernandes’ kick was worthy of a yellow card, why did he escape punishment altogether?
That is the question running through many of the reactions.
Sky Sports’ analysis of the incident made a similar distinction. Laura Hunter wrote that Fernandes was the first offender and argued that both players deserved equal treatment. She also highlighted the fact that the VAR process initially became focused on another incident before Fernandes’ involvement was examined.
The VAR audio provides important context.
The officials initially discussed a possible penalty involving Enzo Fernandez and Youri Tielemans. Only afterward did the assistant VAR raise the possibility of a kick-out involving Foden.
The referee then confirmed his decision to send Foden off.
For City supporters, that sequence has inevitably raised more questions.
“They hate us”
Some reactions moved beyond the individual decision and towards broader accusations of bias.
One supporter, Nas, wrote:
“Waouh wtf They hate us fuck off”
Another fan, Rikard Nyheim, described the situation as:
“Most obvious bias i have ever heard”
These are supporters’ opinions rather than established findings about the officials.
The available evidence does establish that Webb considered Foden’s red card correct while also acknowledging that Fernandes should have been cautioned. It does not establish that the officials deliberately favoured Manchester United.
That distinction is important.
Nevertheless, the comments demonstrate how strongly the incident has affected the perception of the decision among parts of the City fanbase.
“FFS They make it up as they go along”
For Andy Rawcliffe, the issue was the wider interpretation of the rules.
His reaction was:
“FFS They make it up as they go along”
That frustration is understandable in the context of the explanation.
Football supporters are regularly told that VAR exists to correct significant mistakes.
But Webb’s explanation highlights an important limitation.
VAR can review a potential red-card incident, but it cannot simply intervene to retrospectively give a yellow card for an action that the referee did not punish when the incident has already been dealt with in a particular way.
In this case, because Foden had already been sent off, the VAR process could not simply add the yellow card for Fernandes.
That rule may explain what happened.
It does not mean supporters have to agree with the outcome.
“With force?” City fans challenge Webb’s wording
Another supporter, Alex dixon, mocked Webb’s assessment:
“With force ??? 😂😂😂😂 games gone”
That reaction goes directly to the biggest disagreement between the two sides of the incident.
Webb believes Foden’s kick crossed the threshold for violent conduct.
He said it involved force to Fernandes’ upper body and compared it with another recent sending-off.
But City supporters are asking whether the context of the incident should have carried more weight.
Foden did not appear to act in isolation.
Fernandes’ kick came first, according to the review of the footage.
That does not automatically remove responsibility for Foden’s response, but it is central to understanding why the incident became so controversial.
What Webb actually confirmed
Behind the angry social-media reaction, Webb’s explanation contains two separate conclusions.
First, he believes Foden’s red card was correct.
Second, he believes Fernandes should have received a yellow card.
Webb also explained why VAR did not intervene against Fernandes.
The referee had already made a disciplinary decision against Foden, and VAR cannot intervene simply to issue a yellow card for another player in those circumstances.
That is perhaps the most important factual point from the controversy.
The debate therefore is not simply about whether Webb believes Foden deserved to go.
He does.
The bigger question for City supporters is whether the circumstances leading to Foden’s reaction should have resulted in Fernandes being punished as well.
City fans are not convinced
The reactions to the City Xtra post leave little doubt about the mood among the supporters quoted.
“Gaslighting.”
“What a load of BS.”
“Games gone.”
“Most obvious bias.”
Those comments reflect widespread frustration within this sample of City fan reactions.
Yet the official explanation is more nuanced.
Webb did not claim Fernandes did nothing wrong. In fact, he explicitly said the United captain’s kick should have been punished with a yellow card.
The disagreement is about whether that explanation sufficiently addresses the perceived inconsistency.
For City supporters, Foden’s red card remains the headline moment.
For the refereeing authorities, the two actions have different thresholds: Foden’s kick was considered violent conduct, while Fernandes’ was considered a yellow-card offence that VAR could not retrospectively impose.
That distinction may explain the decision-making process.
It has not, however, ended the argument.
The Foden controversy is not going away
The Manchester derby may have ended with Manchester City taking the points, but the Foden red-card controversy has continued well beyond the final whistle.
Howard Webb’s latest comments were intended to explain the decision-making process.
Instead, they have triggered another wave of frustration among City supporters.
The key facts are clear: Foden was sent off after kicking Fernandes, Webb believes that red card was correct, and Webb also believes Fernandes should have been booked for the initial kick. VAR, however, could not retrospectively award that yellow card after Foden’s red had been given.
For City fans, that final detail has done little to settle the argument.
If anything, it has ensured that one of the most controversial moments of the Manchester derby remains firmly in the spotlight.
