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 referee's decision to send off Lisandro Martinez, describing it as 'one of the worst' he has ever seen. The Argentine defender was given his marching orders after a brief, unintentional hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which was deemed a red-card offense by the VAR. Carrick expressed his outrage at the severity of the punishment, stating that the incident was not aggressive and did not warrant a dismissal. He also pointed out that this was the second consecutive game where his team had been adversely affected by a contentious decision. Martinez now faces a three-match ban, which Carrick believes is overly harsh. The incident has sparked a debate among football pundits, with some, like Jamie Carragher, sympathizing with Carrick's viewpoint, while others, such as Gary Neville, believe that Martinez should have been more mindful of the current scrutiny surrounding hair pulling in the sport.