Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, has condemned the 'appalling' decision to send off Lisandro Martinez in the defeat to Leeds, a move he believes is one of the worst refereeing decisions he has witnessed. Martinez was given a red card after a brief and seemingly unintentional hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which was spotted by VAR, resulting in a three-match ban. Carrick expressed his outrage, stating that the incident did not warrant such a harsh punishment.
'It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all is he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It's shocking,' he stated. The decision has sparked controversy, with some pundits, including Jamie Carragher, sympathizing with Carrick's perspective, while others, like Gary Neville, believe Martinez should have been more cautious given the current scrutiny on hair pulling in the league.