Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, has strongly criticized the decision to give Lisandro Martinez a red card in their 2-1 defeat to Leeds, a call he believes is one of the worst he has ever seen. The sending-off occurred after a brief hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin was spotted by VAR, leading to a three-match ban for Martinez.
Carrick argued that the incident was not aggressive and should not have resulted in such a harsh punishment. He expressed frustration that this decision, along with another controversial call in a recent match, has gone against his team.
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher sympathized with Carrick's viewpoint, suggesting that while the rulebook supports such decisions, the context of the game and the intentions of the players should also be considered. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, however, disagreed, stating that players should be aware that any form of hair pulling can lead to a red card, given the current level of scrutiny in the sport.