UMPIRE Carlos Bernardes made a never-before-seen error during the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

His mistake caused Stan Wawrinka to lose his clash with Flavio Cobolli, but neither player even noticed the official’s slip-up.

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Wawrinka was beaten 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 by the 28th seed on Monday in China.

The tight match saw just a single break of serve outside of tie breaks, with Cobolli winning the crucial game in the deciding set.

However, it only came after Bernardes’ bizarre error during the first point of the final set.

Bernardes awarded it to Cobolli by mistake after the Italian had returned Wawrinka’s serve out.

He then won the next point to lead 30-0 instead of 15-15, but neither player or the commentators noticed the error.

It came as the umpire had asked for more electrolytes for Cobolli, making the request over walkie talkie after awarding the point.

Fans on social media were quick to spot the mishap, though, as footage of the incident was shared online.

This prompted former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios to slam Bernardes on X.

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He wrote: “Bernardes should have been fired years ago. How does this happen? Potato.”

On court, Cobolli went on to take the final set to beat former world number three and three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka.

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His reward was a last 32 match up with four-time winner Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Wawrinka, who is now ranked 236th in the world, heads home from the tournament.

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In the letter, Cliff offered “clarifications” to “assist member clubs with their understanding” in response to a summary of the panel’s ruling by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

“Regrettably, the summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies,” Cliff claims.

“The tribunal has declared the APT rules to be unlawful. MCFC’s position is that this means that all of the APT rules are void,” the letter states.

“The decision does not contain an ‘endorsement’ of the APT Rules, nor does it state that the APT Rules, as enacted, were ‘necessary’ in order to ensure the efficacy of the League’s financial controls.”

The Premier League’s position that City were unsuccessful in the majority of its challenge is described by Cliff as “a peculiar way of looking at the decision”.

He added: “While it is true that MCFC did not succeed with every point that it ran in its legal challenge, the club did not need to prove that the APT rules are unlawful for lots of different reasons. It is enough that they are unlawful for one reason.”

Cliff added that it was “not correct that the tribunal’s decision identifies ‘certain discrete elements’ of the APT rules that need to be amended in order to comply with competition and public law requirements.

“On the contrary: the APT Rules… have been found to be unlawful, as a matter of competition law and public law. This means that they are void and not capable of enforcement. This has very significant consequences for APTs that have been entered into to date and APTs that are currently being negotiated by clubs.

“Of even greater concern, however, is the PL’s suggestion that new APT rules should be passed within the next 10 days.”

The Premier League is seeking to amend its rules within the next fortnight so that they comply with competition law.

The tribunal – in a 175-page document – ruled that low-interest shareholder loans from owners to their clubs should not be excluded from the scope of APT rules, and that some amendments to toughen up the rules in February by should not be retained.

However Cliff warns that it is “remarkable that the Premier League is now seeking to involve the member clubs in a process to amend the APT rules at a time when it does not even know the status of those rules”.

He added: “We will be writing separately about this to the Premier League but in the meantime, given the findings in the award, this is the time for careful reflection and consideration by all clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction.

“Such an unwise course would be likely to lead to further legal proceedings with further legal costs. It is critical for member clubs to feel that they can have trust in their regulator.”

DAVID MOYES has left Manchester United fans baffled after giving his thoughts on Erik ten Hag.

The Scottish manager is currently without a club, having left West Ham at the end of last season.

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Moyes was the first manager at Man United after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The club has gone on to have multiple bosses but have not won a Premier League title since the legendary manager.

Ten Hag is the latest man to have the hot seat in the Old Trafford dugout, having been appointed in 2022.

The Dutchman has come under fire for his results, despite winning a Carabao Cup and FA Cup in his first two seasons.

Despite the cup success, performances in the league have been questionable with the Red Devils placing 8th last term, their worst ever finish.

This season has also started poorly with the club having their worst start to a campaign in 35 years, beating the previous record by one point.

That record was set last season under Ten Hag as the club only achieved nine points after seven games.

Despite this, Moyes thinks that Ten Hag has been “brilliant” since arriving in Manchester.

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He told the BBC: “I think he’s doing a brilliant job.

“I think he’s shown brilliant resilience in the situation that he’s in and I think he should be credited for how well he’s conducted himself.

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“As far as I know, I don’t see him ducking any questions or any media interviews that you people [the media] put forward to him.

“I think you have to give him great credit for that, but it’s a job that is going to attract immense pressure, with people talking, so I have to say that I think he’s doing a brilliant job.”

Fans have been left confused about the comments as the reacted on social media.

One posted: “David Moyes is joking, right?”

A second wrote: “Moyes has always had a great sense of humour.”

A third commented: “This is too funny! Moyes is ‘LMAO’ on the inside.”

A fourth said: “Top tier trolling well in.”

Another added: “I can’t tell if he is being serious or not.”

Ten Hag is currently on holiday for the international break and is confident that his job is secure.

Meanwhile, Man United chiefs are undergoing crunch talks over the future of the former Ajax boss.

Should they decide to axe Ten Hag then the likes of Graham Potter, Gareth Southgate and Thomas Tuchel are among the candidates to replace him.

Ten Hag’s five worst defeats

ERIK TEN HAG has suffered some heavy defeats during his tenure as Manchester United manager.

5. Copenhagen 4-3 Man Utd, November 2023

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The damaging defeat saw the Red Devils dumped out of the Champions League.

4. Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth, December 2023

It was the first time the Cherries had ever won at Old Trafford with the players being booed off.

3. Brentford 4-0 Man Utd, August 2022

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Perhaps a sign of things to come, in Ten Hag’s second Premier League game, his side was dismantled by the Bees.

2. Crystal Palace 4-0 Man Utd, May 2024

The heavy defeat to the Eagles saw the Dutchman edge ever closer to the sack.

1. Liverpool 7-0 Man Utd, March 2023

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Man Utd were embarrassed at the hands of their bitter rivals as they crumbled at Anfield as it was the club’s worst defeat in 92 years.

Parrott was signed by AZ Alkmaar in July after a season-long loan stint at Excelsior, who were relegated from the Eredivisie in June despite the Dubliner’s goalscoring exploits.

He quickly made an impression for AZ, netting four in a 9-1 demolition of Heerenveen last month before scoring a match-winning penalty against Elfsborg in the Europa League.

“To be away, it’s not necessarily being out of the spotlight, it’s just a new experience for me that I’m really enjoying,” said Parrott.

“For me to be enjoying my football is the most important thing and it’s one of the reasons why I’ve managed to do well up to now.”

Parrott, who made his senior international debut in 2019, scored a late winner in the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Hungary in June.

And while that came hot on the heels of a prolific end to last season with Excelsior, he was left on the bench by new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson during last month’s defeats by England and Greece.

Parrott admits that was “disappointing” but added he is not going to “sit around and cry about” it as he looks to make an impact against Finland and Greece over the next week.

“If I get the chance to play I’m going to feel like I’m ready and like I can make an impact on the game,” he said.

“I can see why the team feels low on form because of the previous results but it’s on all of us to turn that around.”

Kayla Harrison says she was “peeing blood” in the week before her win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 last Saturday.

The two-time Olympic judo champion’s victory lifted her into the number one contender spot for Julianna Pena’s bantamweight title.

Harrison has fought most of her MMA career at lightweight (155lb) but competes at 135lbs in the UFC.

The 34-year-old secured a points win, but thought her performance was affected by her health issues going into the contest.

“I need to take a little bit of time off just because of the weight cut and the process that it is for my body,” Harrison told TMZ.

“I’m just not built to weigh 135lb. Anytime I get under the 150s, it’s not pleasant.

“The first time [I fought in the UFC] was [the] fear of, like, ‘Can I do it?’

“This time it was fear of, like, ‘Oh God, I have to do it’. The anticipation. But I’m blessed. I have such a good team.”

The UFC was aware Harrison attended the hospital the week before her bout, but the fighter did not elaborate on what caused the problems.

Harrison is a two-time lightweight champion in the PFL, but left the organisation to join the UFC earlier this year.

The Ohio fighter submitted former champion Holly Holm in her debut before beating Vieira.

Pena dethroned Raquel Pennington in a controversial split decision points win at UFC 307, but opted to call out retired champion Amanda Nunes rather than Harrison after her victory.