AdminDominic Calvert-Lewin has addressed the controversial incident that led to Lisandro Martinez being shown a straight red card during Manchester United’s defeat to Leeds on Monday night.
With 56 minutes on the clock at Old Trafford, Martinez was given his marching orders after referee Paul Tierney was instructed to review the much-talked-about hair-grabbing incident on the pitchside monitor.
Tierney proceeded to send Martinez off for an act of violent conduct, a decision United interim Michael Carrick later described as “one of the worst I’ve ever seen”.
“He [Calvert-Lewin] can throw his arms in Licha’s [Martinez’s] face – and then he’s sent off. Shocking,” said Carrick, who added: “I don’t even know what it looks like. It’s not a pull, it’s not a tug, it’s not aggressive. He touches it and he gets sent off.
Bruno Fernandes also made his feelings clear in his post-match interview with Sky. “If I talk about the referee I will get in a big trouble,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it because the rules are different for everyone, applied different for everyone.”
Martinez was sent off for the hair pull. Image credit: Sky Sports
United proceeded to lose ground in the race for Champions League football, with Noah Okafor’s first-half brace sealing a hard-fought three points for Leeds, who moved six points adrift of the relegation zone.
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Naturally, one of the big talking points from Monday night’s game at Old Trafford has been the red card incident involving Martinez and Calvert-Lewin.
After the full-time whistle, the striker revealed that he had to alert Tierney to his hair being pulled by the Manchester United defender, who now faces a three-match ban that would see him miss games against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Calvert-Lewin was asked whether he felt the red card was fair.
“I don’t know, I don’t make the rules,” he said. “I felt my hair get pulled and obviously I told the ref, he’s the one that makes the decisions, at the end of the day. Unfortunate for him [Martinez], whether he’s meant it or not, I don’t hold no grudges, but it is what it is.”
“Behave yourself” – Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane react to Lisandro Martinez red card incident
As expected, those inside the Monday Night Football studio had some strong opinions on Paul Tierney’s decision to brandish a red card.
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“He’s going for the ball and he’s almost grappling,” began Jamie Carragher. “He’s trying to grab onto something and he’s caught the back of his hair – it could’ve been his hair or anything.
“He’s got him for about half a second. We hear from Howard Webb and he says, What does the game want?’ I don’t think any football fan, manager or player is thinking, ‘That’s a red card’. Everybody is looking at that and thinking, ‘Oh come on, that is not a red card, behave yourself.'”
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