Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, lambasted the 'shocking' decision to send off Lisandro Martinez, deeming it 'one of the worst' refereeing calls he has ever seen. The sending-off occurred after a brief, 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 for Martinez. Carrick expressed his outrage, stating, 'It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive; he merely touches it and gets sent off.' He also criticized the inconsistency in refereeing decisions, pointing out that a similar incident involving Leny Yoro and Calvert-Lewin earlier in the game did not warrant a red card.
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher shared Carrick's sentiments, arguing that the decision to send off Martinez was overly harsh and did not align with the spirit of the game. In contrast, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believed that Martinez should have been more aware of the rules and the heightened scrutiny surrounding hair-pulling incidents this season.