Matheus Cunha’s actions against Bournemouth during Wolves’ FA Cup defeat have earned the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Praise for the Brazilian’s goal at the Vitality quickly fizzled out as Cunha was sent off for an incident involving Milos Kerkez.
Wolves’ star player will now miss the next three matches, taking him away from the action until April due to the schedule.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was furious at Cunha’s actions due to the repercussions they had on Kerkez, who was shown a yellow for his part in the standoff.
Matheus Cunha slammed for not learning his lesson after red card
While Iraola was unhappy with the booking his defender picked up, Vitor Pereira was more sympathetic to Cunha than some might have anticipated.
The Wolves manager revealed that the forward had been carrying an injury, suggesting that his actions were a result of pent-up pressure at the end of a dramatic 120 minutes of play.
On the other hand, Wolves fans are furious with Cunha for posting on social media after his dismissal, with the Brazilian in several people’s bad books for his bust-up.
One figure who was outraged by the 25-year-old’s behaviour was Express and Star reporter Nathan Judah, who blasted Cunha for reasons beyond his involvement at the end of extra time.
“You cannot [behave like this] when you’ve already done this at Ipswich,” Judah said, pleading for the forward to learn his lesson.
“When you’ve been pulled away, when you’ve got retrospective bans, when you’ve had this warning, you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. He has not learned from his mistakes and that is an absolutely unforgivable sin.”
It wasn’t long ago that Cunha was suspended for his actions after Wolves’ late defeat to Ipswich Town, which fuelled Judah’s frustration following another punishment.
Cunha understands how important he is to Wolves so naturally, there’s a lot of anger towards how the number ten let his teammates down, given that he’ll now face a suspension.
Poor season of discipline for Wolves
Judah was strong with his feedback for Cunha but, the reporter’s frustrations are understandable given how the Brazilian has failed to learn his lesson.
That goes for the whole Wolves squad, as the 2024/25 campaign has been one of ill-discipline for the Old Gold, with several players involved in puzzling altercations.
Cunha received an FA ban for pushing a member of Ipswich Town’s staff in the face, with Rayan Ait-Nouri involved in a bust-up in the same game.
Before that, Mario Lemina lost captaincy due to a full-time brawl at the London Stadium, leading to his eventual exit in January.
Another player involved in controversy was Jose Sa, who clashed with Wolves fans in December, in what has been a trialling time for the squad.
While the players are under immense pressure, more has to be done in terms of leading by example, with the loss of Cunha for three games surely needing to be a wake-up call.