Carrick Condemns 'Appalling' Red Card for Martinez: 'One of the Most Egregious Decisions I've Witnessed'

Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, lambasted the 'shocking' decision to send off Lisandro Martinez, labeling it as 'one of the worst' refereeing calls he has ever seen. The red card was issued after a brief, seemingly unintentional hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin during the team's 2-1 loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, resulting in a three-match ban for Martinez. Carrick expressed his outrage, stating, 'It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. The worst part is that it was overturned as a clear and obvious error. It's shocking.' Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher shared Carrick's sentiments, describing the incident as 'softer' than a similar situation involving Michael Keane earlier in the season. However, Gary Neville disagreed, feeling that Martinez should have been aware of the heightened scrutiny surrounding hair pulling this season and the potential consequences of such actions.