Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second time in as many games as Manchester United drew 3-3 with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Portugal international was dismissed for two bookable offenses at Estadio do Dragao — just days after he was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle in United’s 3-0 loss against Tottenham on Sunday. A three-match suspension for that sending off was later overturned on appeal, but he was given his marching orders again as United battled to avoid another defeat against Porto.
Fernandes was sent off in the 81st minute when shown a second yellow card for a high boot that caught defender Nehuen Perez.
United was trailing 3-2 when he went off, having led 2-0 inside 20 minutes.
A loss would have increased the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag after a troubled start to the season, but substitute Harry Maguire salvaged a draw with a headed goal in the first minute of stoppage time.
“We started the game very good and we dominated and scored two good goals, but then we lost control," Ten Hag said. "The start was good, the middle part was not good and we finished very good.
“You see again the team is willing, strong character, but the middle part, the defending, we have to improve.”
Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund had put United into an early 2-0 lead before goals from Pepe Aquino and Samu Omorodion leveled the score at halftime.
Omorodion then put Porto ahead five minutes into the second half.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, right, reaches for the ball too high and close to the head of Porto's Nehuen Perez to see a second yellow card and be sent off, during a Europa League opening phase soccer match between FC Porto and Manchester United at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)
JERUSALEM (AP) — A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.
Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive interview with Israel’s Kan news channel Monday night.
Critics have repeatedly accused Netanyahu of refusing to accept blame for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. But little is known about Netanyahu’s behavior in the days immediately following the attack, while the premier has consistently resisted an independent state inquiry.
Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said “the first task” he received from Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, was to stifle calls for accountability.
“He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?’” Feldstein said. “He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.”
He added that Netanyahu looked “panicked” when he made the request. Feldstein said he was later told by people in Netanyahu's close circle to omit the word “responsibility” from all statements.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel then launched a devastating war in Gaza that has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
Netanyahu’s office called the interview a “long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself,” Hebrew media reported.
Feldstein’s statements come after his indictment in a case where he is accused of leaking classified military information to a German tabloid to improve public perception of the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August of last year.
Feldstein is also a suspect in the “Qatargate” scandal, one of two close aides to Netanyahu accused of accepting money from Qatar while also working for the prime minister.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, Monday Dec. 22, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
