After Manchester United saw their appeal against Lisandro Martinez’s red card be overturned, the FA have explained why their protestation fell on deaf ears
The FA have told Manchester United their appeal to overturn Lisandro Martinez’s three-match suspension was denied because the incident was not a clear and obvious error. Martinez was given a straight red card in the home defeat to Leeds United after he tugged on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.
Michael Carrick was incensed with the decision, stating it was “one of the worst I’ve seen” before stating he is “worried” at the direction the sport is going in, if that’s deemed a red card. Unfortunately for the Reds interim manager, on reflection, the FA has still decided Martinez’s petty pull was a straight red.
The Argentine was forced to sit out of United’s recent 1-0 away victory over Chelsea as a result. He too will miss the next two matches, as the suspension has not been reduced.
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United’s appeal was rejected by English football’s governing body because the decision was not deemed to be a clear and obvious error. The FA also stated it was not a case of excessive punishment as hair-pulling is “not to be tolerated and should be discouraged.”
Martinez will miss Monday’s pivotal clash against Brentford and the derby battle against Liverpool, both of which are taking place at Old Trafford. The South American will not be back on the pitch for United until the away fixture against Sunderland on May 9.
Carrick has had to deal with a defensive crisis due to Harry Maguire’s suspension for picking up an extra ban for angrily protesting his red card in the recent draw with Bournemouth.
Moreover, Matthijs De Ligt is still injured and yet to play under Carrick, while young central defender Leny Yoro recently picked up an injury in training. Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven played at centre-back against the Blues.
Maguire will likely come back into the starting lineup now his suspension has concluded though it’s likely the pair will partner each other again. Last week, before the clash against Chelsea, Carrick confirmed the club were informed Martinez will have to serve the full three-match suspension.
The still-seething United interim manager said: “We didn’t agree with [the decision], it’s obvious how I felt after the game, and I still feel that way now. I don’t want to go into it now, it is what it is. We have to accept it and move on.”
When asked for his thoughts again after Maguire’s suspension was mentioned, he added: “To be honest, there’s not much to react to. I’m disappointed, of course. We’ve had a few reasons to be disappointed over the last few weeks. We have to move on because the decision has been made.”
Considering how strong Heaven and Mazraoui were at Stamford Bridge, Carrick may not be feeling too worried After the pair kept a clean sheet in west London, the United boss said: “I thought Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui coming in were incredible.
“Ayden being such a young age and Noussair not really playing centre back in a back four. I have to give the coaching staff a lot of credit on getting the boys ready for that. I thought the boys put a magnificent performance in tonight.”
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