Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, lambasted the 'shocking' decision to dismiss Lisandro Martinez, labeling it one of the most atrocious refereeing calls he has ever seen. The Argentine defender was given his marching orders after a brief, seemingly unintentional hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin during the 2-1 loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, which will now result in a three-match ban.
Carrick was incensed, arguing that the incident did not warrant such harsh punishment. '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,' Carrick expressed to Sky Sports. Martinez appeared perplexed as he left the pitch, having been grappling with Calvert-Lewin at the time of the incident. Carrick was further irked by the decision to allow Noah Okafor's early opener to stand, despite Calvert-Lewin catching defender Leny Yoro in the face with an arm in the build-up.
'We didn't start the game particularly well. We conceded, which came after Leny Yoro got a forearm smash in the back of his head,' Carrick added.
The incident has drawn comparisons to a similar incident involving Everton's Michael Keane, who saw red for a hair pull on Wolves forward Tolu Arokodare in January. Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher sympathized with Carrick, stating that the decision was overly harsh and did not align with the spirit of the game.
'He's going for the ball, Calvert-Lewin's done nothing wrong, he's just put his arm out. Martinez is almost grappling, he's just trying to grab onto something. It could've been his shirt, it could've been anything,' Carragher said. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville disagreed, feeling that Martinez should have been aware of the heightened scrutiny surrounding hair pulls this season and taken greater care to avoid any contact.