'F**k them!' - Bruno Fernandes conjures referee conspiracy theory after Morocco win, Portugal staffer tried to stop him

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has launched a scathing attack on the match officials in Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar.

Youssef En-Nesyri produced a sensational Cristiano Ronaldo-esque header to break the deadlock and fire Morocco into the lead before half-time on Saturday.

Morocco were reduced to 10 men in injury time after Walid Cheddira was sent off, but Portugal were unable to pull back a crucial equaliser before full-time.

Walid Regragui’s men punched their ticket to the semi-finals for a clash with defending World Cup champions France, who defeated England in the quarter-finals.

Fernandes’ Portugal teammate Pepe launched a scathing attack on the match officials from their quarter-final clash against Morocco at the Al-Thumama Stadium.

Now, Fernandes pulled no punches towards Argentine referee Facundo Tello and the other match officials after Portugal crashed out of the World Cup.

The 28-year-old Portuguese midfielder tore into the match officials from Argentina, with a Portuguese Football Federation (PFF) media officer attempting to calm Fernandes down.

According to Goal, Fernandes told the PFF staffer to not touch him and allow him to speak his mind on Tello and Co, with the Portugal star going into a full-on conspiracy-style rant.

Alamy

When the Portugal staffer tried to intervene and calm Fernandes down, he said: “Don’t touch me, I’ll say what I have to say. F**k them...

“I have to say that it is very strange to have a referee refereeing us from a country [Argentina] that still has its team in the competition and we don’t have Portuguese referees in the World Cup.

“Ours referee the Champions League, so they have the quality and level to be here.

READ MORE:

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• Georgina Rodriguez aims salty dig at Fernando Santos after starting Cristiano Ronaldo on bench against Morocco
• Footage emerges of pitch invader trying to approach Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal defeat

“These officials don’t referee in the Champions League, they’re not used to this type of game, they don’t have the pace for it. They clearly tilted the field.

“In the first half, there is a clear penalty on me, without a doubt any, because I am isolated and never in my life let myself fall, when I was alone with the goalkeeper and could shoot at the goal. As simple as that.”

Topics: Bruno Fernandes, Portugal, Football World Cup, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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