Jamie Carragher has strongly criticised the decision to send off Lisandro Martinez during Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds United in Monday night’s Premier League showdown.
Right from kickoff, Leeds took control and set the tempo, racing into a two-goal lead thanks to a clinical brace from Noah Okafor.
The visitors capitalised on United’s sluggish start, leaving the Red Devils chasing the game early on.
However, the momentum shifted further against Manchester United midway through the second half.
On 56 minutes, Martinez was shown a red card after a VAR review determined he had pulled the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Notably, the incident had initially gone unnoticed by referee Paul Tierney before intervention from the video officials.
Although Casemiro pulled one back in the 69th minute to spark brief hope, United couldn’t complete the comeback, slipping to only their second defeat in 11 matches under interim boss Michael Carrick.
Post-match, Calvert-Lewin revealed he had alerted officials to the hair-pulling incident, which ultimately led to the VAR review and dismissal.
Still, the decision has sparked widespread debate, with Carragher leading the criticism.
“Howard Webb, who we speak to maybe two or three times a season, comes out with a line on certain situations that I actually like; sometimes it’s not about the rulebook, it’s about actually what the game wants,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“I don’t think any football fan, I don’t think anybody – any football manager, any player watching that at home, is sitting there thinking, ‘Yeah, I think that’s a red card’.
“I think everybody in the game is looking at that and thinking, ‘Oh, come on. That is not a red card. Behave yourself!’”
As the final whistle blew, the controversy surrounding Martinez’s dismissal remained the main talking point, overshadowing Leeds’ impressive performance and raising fresh questions about VAR consistency in the modern game.
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