Fulham led at Craven Cottage until the 89th minute. When Matheus Cunha’s deflected shot beat Bernd Leno for the equaliser, Arbeloa did not go through Fulham’s own errors first.

“Every decision was for them,” the Spaniard said afterwards.

“I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here.”

The Fulham head coach’s grievance was one specific free-kick, given 35 seconds before Cunha’s goal. Referee Peter Bankes penalised Cesar Palacios for fouling Harry Maguire on the halfway line, and the delivery started the move that finished with the equaliser. Lisandro Martinez’s 63rd-minute own goal had put Fulham ahead in the first place.

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Arbeloa’s own reading of the challenge was that Maguire, a big man who did not need protecting, was not really fouled at all.

“All fouls for them. You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire, he’s a guy who is 100 kilos,” he told Sky Sports.

The Manchester derby he kept coming back to

Arbeloa’s accusation is anchored in the previous weekend’s Manchester derby. Erling Haaland scored the only goal of that match at Old Trafford, and the referees’ body Pro Ref admitted the goal should have been disallowed and issued a formal apology to Manchester United. The VAR did not spot that Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position ahead of Haaland and did not send head referee Michael Oliver to an on-field review.

In Arbeloa’s reading, the officiating on Sunday at Craven Cottage was an attempt to even the ledger.

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“We knew it would be difficult against this big team. Also, we knew what happened last week,” he said.

Sack speculation already in the newspapers

The draw stretches Fulham’s winless start to six Premier League matches. They sat 19th before kick-off with only Tottenham below them on goal difference, and the club appointed the 43-year-old former Real Madrid full-back in July on a three-year contract to replace Marco Silva, who left for Benfica.

Reports last week claimed Arbeloa’s own signings were “ringing their agents” over the poor start, though club sources told Football Insider that Fulham had no plans to sack him. A goalless draw at Anfield the weekend before had been read at Craven Cottage as evidence the defensive problems were easing.

An FA charge is now the more immediate worry. Public accusations that officials favour a specific club are the kind of remark the FA has repeatedly punished with fines and touchline bans, and English media flagged the risk within hours of the final whistle.

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