Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, has vehemently criticized the referee's decision to send off Lisandro Martinez, labeling it as 'one of the worst' refereeing decisions he has ever seen. The incident occurred during Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to Leeds, when Martinez was given a red card for a brief and seemingly unintentional hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Carrick expressed his outrage, stating that the decision was 'shocking' and that the referee had made a 'clear and obvious error' in dismissing Martinez.
The Argentine defender now faces a three-match ban. Carrick's sentiments were echoed by Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher, who felt that the decision was overly harsh. The Manchester United head coach also expressed frustration at the referee's decision not to overturn the opening goal, which was scored by Noah Okafor, after Calvert-Lewin had caught defender Leny Yoro in the face with his arm in the build-up.
Martinez is not the first Premier League player to be sent off for a hair pull this season, with Everton's Michael Keane having received a red card for a similar incident in January. The 2025-26 Premier League handbook states that players will be sent off if they are found to be 'clearly pulling the hair of an opponent with force.' However, Carragher believes that this rule does not apply to either Keane or Martinez's situations, and that the decisions were overly harsh.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville disagreed, feeling that Martinez should have been aware that any kind of hair pull would be punishable by a red card, given the heightened level of scrutiny this season.