Fulham manager Marco Silva has issued a furious rant and pointed the finger at referee John Brooks following his side’s late defeat at Manchester United on Sunday
17:59, 01 Feb 2026Updated 18:20, 01 Feb 2026
Marco Silva fumed after Fulham’s defeat at Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
Marco Silva has lambasted referee John Brooks after he initially gave Manchester United a first-half penalty during Fulham’s 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford.
Brooks pointed to the spot in the 16th minute after he felt Jorge Cuenca fouled Matheus Cunha inside the area. Replays, however, showed that Cuenca got the ball before making contact with the United forward.
Then, following a VAR check, Brooks informed supporters inside the stadium that a free-kick, positioned just outside the right side of the area, was going to be awarded instead of a penalty. This came after it was viewed that Cuenca had a hold of Cunha’s shirt and fouled him before the two players made their way into the box.
United ended up scoring from the resulting free-kick as Bruno Fernandes crossed in a ball for Casemiro to meet and head beyond Bernd Leno, who stood little chance.
FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FB PAGE! Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page
Speaking post-match, Silva fumed that Brooks gave a spot-kick in the first place for Cuenca’s challenge on Cunha. “Top performance from ourselves,” the Fulham boss started.
“Second half, our team was better. The way we played and controlled the ball, they wanted to press us high but we never let them. They scored when we switched off but we kept going and scored a goal that was disallowed. It is what it is. Difficult but we have to accept it.
“The story of the game started with a horrendous terrible decision from John Brooks with the penalty he gave. Horrendous decision from that moment, big, big mistake. It was the first time we saw all the Premier League fans and us coaches and players. We have to take all this frustration to win the next one.”
Manchester United were initially given a penalty for a foul on Matheus Cunha(Image: Getty Images)
When pressed on VAR’s decision to overrule Brooks, Silva added: “The penalty was given by the tackle. After, because the decision was so bad, they found a different foul.”
Silva was then asked if decisions went against Fulham, after his side were then denied a goal in the 65th minute for an offside in the build-up to a close-range finish from Jorge Cuenca.
“I feel my players, I feel our fans but we have to respect and the people in charge,” Silva said. “I know why the penalty was given. VAR went in a completely different direction to find something to find a free-kick that was not the reason why the penalty was given.”
Silva’s rant on Brooks and the officiating ended when he was quizzed on whether he had spoken to Brooks. “I don’t want get more cards because I want to be on the touchline,” he finished. “I don’t want to speak more.”
Benjamin Sesko ended up proving to be the match-winner for United after Fulham had come from 2-0 down to pull it back to 2-2 in stoppage-time. But United snatched it in the 94th minute with Sesko firing home from inside the box after Bruno Fernandes had pulled the ball into his path.