Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, has slammed the 'shocking' decision to send off Lisandro Martinez in their 2-1 defeat to Leeds, a call he believes is 'one of the worst' he has ever seen. The red card was given after a brief hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which was deemed a sending-off offense by referee Paul Tierney following a VAR review. Carrick argued that the incident was not aggressive and that Martinez merely touched Calvert-Lewin's hair, leading to an unintentional pull.
He expressed frustration that this minor infraction led to a three-match ban for the Argentine defender. The decision has sparked debate, with Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher sympathizing with Carrick's viewpoint, while former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believed Martinez should have been more aware of the risks of hair pulling given the current scrutiny in the Premier League.