Michael Carrick slammed the decision to send Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair as “shocking” and “one of the worst” he had ever seen.
The Argentina defender was shown a straight red card by referee Paul Tierney in his side’s 2-1 defeat following a VAR review.
But Carrick argued that while Martinez touched the Leeds striker’s hair, it was not aggressive and should not constitute violent conduct.
And the usually mild-manner Carrick, who had been aggrieved at the officiating in the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, was outspoken in his criticisms.
He said: “I thought the boys stayed positive and fought for everything in the second half, after a shocking decision to send Licha [Martinez] off. That’s two games in a row we’ve had those decisions go against us, but that one was one of the worst I’ve seen.
“The red card, that is really concerning if that’s going to be a sending off. I know he’s touched his hair. He can’t deny he touched his head. There’s a difference between touching somebody the way he has and brushed his hair to actually, really aggressively, tugging on it, so the arm in the face of Lisandro to start with, so he’s kind of off balance in the kind of off grappling.
“He almost just goes to touch him and grab his shirt and he ends up catching his head, touches the back of his hair, the bobble comes out and you can you get a red card. It’s not aggressive. There’s no jolt. There’s no tug. There’s no sudden movement. He kind of touches it and glances through it.”
Martinez, making his first appearance for two months, was dismissed after 55 minutes and is set to miss the Premier League matches against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool as he faces a three-match ban.
Carrick said United are considering appealing against the red card, adding: “I am going to have to discuss it but I think it is a bad decision.”
Carrick was also annoyed that Leeds’ fifth-minute opener, scored by Noah Okafor, stood as he accused Calvert-Lewin of fouling Leny Yoro in the build-up.
“Leny Yoro gets a forearm smash in the back of the head,” he said. “I don’t know if you get a sending off for what we’re getting a sending an off. I don’t know how that doesn’t get overturned as it goes. It’s a clear, clear forearm smashing the side of his head. So that first goal shouldn’t stand.”
Calvert-Lewin said he had told referee Paul Tierney when Martinez tugged his hair, explaining: “I don’t make the rules. I felt my hair get pulled, told the ref, he makes the decisions. Unfortunate for him, whether he’s meant it or not. I hold no grudges.”
