Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has spoken out about the incident in which Lisandro Martinez was sent off during Manchester United’s match against Leeds on Monday night.
Lisandro Martinez is sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair during Manchester United’s game against Leeds (Image: Getty Images)
Lisandro Martinez believes Mark Halsey was unlucky to be sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair during Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at Leeds.
The 28-year-old United defender was left red in the face after pulling Calvert-Lewin’s hair slightly after a VAR test on Monday night. Martinez will be suspended for three games after manager Paul Tierney was advised to review the incident, but the Red Devils are appealing the decision.
Former Premier League referee Halsey also doesn’t think Martinez deserved a red card for momentarily pulling Calvert-Lewin’s hair during a contest for the ball.
“The game between Man United and Leeds at Old Trafford was a big story and Martinez was sent off for violent behavior,” Halsey told The Sun.
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“If you look at what happened, the ball was played all the way to Calvert-Lewin and Martinez was right there.
“When two players are challenging for the ball, the defender is always feeling the player in front of him with his arms. Now Paul Tierney is playing on, but he can’t see anything and the play is stopped.”
“VAR recommended an investigation into Martinez’s violent act of pulling his hair. Is it a clear mistake for VAR to get involved? In my opinion, this is not an act of violence. It is a very harsh act.”
The two were fighting for the ball before VAR intervened (Image: Sky Sports)
It remains to be seen whether Martinez’s red card will be overturned on United’s appeal, but manager Michael Carrick gave a sober assessment of the decision, labeling it one of the “worst” calls he had ever seen.
“It wasn’t a tug, it wasn’t a tug, it wasn’t aggressive. He just touched it and got sent off. The worst part is that he was sent off to cover it up as a clear mistake. It’s shocking,” he told Sky Sports.
“That made him lose his balance and he touched half the back of his hair and it pulled his bob down and it looked like this. I don’t even know what that looks like.”
“Two games in a row the decisions went against us, and that game was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”
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