Manchester Derby: Pep Joins Furious Man City Players in Confronting Ref in Tunnel After Defeat at Old Trafford

• A controversial refereeing decision sparked a confrontation shortly after the Manchester derby
• The decision involved Bruno Fernandes's equaliser for Manchester United in the 78th minute
• The goal had initially been ruled out for offside before the intervention of VAR which allowed it to stand

Furious Man City stars were involved in a heated argument with the referee in the tunnel shortly after their Manchester derby defeat at Old Trafford.

The tense clash played on Saturday, January 14, saw City surrender a 1-0 lead to allow the hosts stage a dramatic comeback.

The two English giants settled for a barren draw in the first half, before Jack Grealish came off the bench to hand City the lead in the 60th minute.

According to The Sun, the Red Devils controversially equalised in the 78th minute after Marcus Rashford was not flagged offside, with Bruno Fernandes taking the advantage to score.

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Rashford went on to grab the winner for United four minutes later as the hosts stormed to a vital Premier League win.

Chaos in Old Trafford tunnel

Sportbible reports that the tension in the pitch spilt over to the tunnel at Old Trafford, with a section of City stars said to have confronted referee Stuart Attwell over United's 'controversial' equaliser.

Jack Grealish, Pep Guardiola and Harry Maguire are all said to have been involved in the spat, with reporter Jan Aage Fjortoft divulging that the Man City camp was ‘very disappointed’ and ‘not aggressive’ during the confrontation.

“The first goal is a joke. Rashford is clearly offside so I played him offside," Man City ace Akanji was initially quoted saying on United's equaliser.

"He runs to the last second and only stops because Bruno is coming in behind him," he added.

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Why Bruno's goal should not have stood

Sports Brief earlier reported on the debate that raged on social media after Bruno Fernandes' goal in the derby.

Casemiro released a ball through on goal which was challenged by Marcus Rashford who was in a clear offside position. The England international left the ball for his teammate, Fernandes who was onside. Fernandes lifted the ball past Ederson but the celebrations were halted momentarily.

United's argument must have been Rashford did not touch the ball nor did he interfere with an opposition player.

The FIFA rules state that a player is interfering with play if he touches the ball from a teammate’s pass.