Roy Keane has taken exception to Phil Foden taunting Man United fans after Man City won the derby at Old Trafford having left his team-mates in the lurch with a red card.

Foden was given his marching orders for reacting to a subtle Bruno Fernandes kick by pushing his legs back into the United captain's stomach in the first half.

Despite Michael Oliver sending the Englishman off, City went on to win 1-0 through Erling Haaland's goal that should have been disallowed after a disastrous non-intervention from the VAR team.

With Foden's blushes spared, he responded to Man United fans outside the stadium by holding up a 1-0 scoreline with his fingers to rub it in on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Keane explained how unimpressed he was by the gesture.

He said: 'Can I make a point on Foden? Foden gets sent off at the weekend and gets left out of the England squad. He loves a YouTube video kicking it against a wall, he wants to learn to head the ball and might have scored a couple against Palace...

'Anyway, did you see him the other day walking onto the bus (after the game). He's holding his fingers up showing 1-0 to the United fans.'

Jill Scott then defended the 26-year-old, adding: 'But he's getting s*** isn't he? You do react.'

But the legendary former United midfielder was having none of it, retorting: 'You've just been sent off, what are you doing? Get on the bus.'

Scott then added: 'You do react and he is a big City fan. I think he's being a fan as he's walking through there.'

Foden's actions were viewed by the referee as violent conduct but in the aftermath, a number of pundits, Keane included, stuck up for him, arguing if anyone should have taken an early bath it was Fernandes.

Keane said: 'He (Fernandes) goes and tackles him, gives him a little boot on the floor, he does react obviously. The strange thing is... I'm guessing it's classed as violent. To me, Bruno is the one who is violent.

'We see violence in a different way. I don't think that's a red card. Did the player give the referee a chance? Foden is daft, but so is Bruno. If Bruno got sent off we would be saying he is daft. Bruno has to do better there. Foden, I don't think it's a red card.'

'I thought the way Bruno Fernandes went down was pathetic,' Alan Shearer later said on The Rest Is Football. 'He helped get Foden off and, yes, he’s kicked out at him a little bit but Bruno Fernandes has also kicked Phil Foden.

'If Phil Foden reacts in the same way as Bruno Fernandes did then both get red cards. So, for me, either both are red or neither of them are.'

Ex-City defender Micah Richards, meanwhile, added: 'Foden didn't react (in pain). If he reacted at the second kick... if Foden starts screaming, the decision is reversed.

'As a referee, it looks worse than it is. I don't agree with the reaction from Foden, but Fernandes started it.'

Foden will be incredibly relieved that his dismissal mattered little in the end, while United were left furious that Haaland's goal was allowed to stand.

Pro Ref issued an apology after the game and, as Mail Sport exclusively reported, the two VARs have been blocked from working on United games for the foreseeable future.

Foden, meanwhile, will have to serve a three-match suspension, missing games against Norwich, Sunderland and Liverpool.