Crystal Palace star Maxence Lacroix was sent off after giving away a penalty against Manchester United, two decisions which Oliver Glasner doesn't think were correct
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 1: Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace fouls Matheus Cunha of Manchester United to give away a penalty during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on March 1, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images)
Maxence Lacroix was sent off after conceding a penalty(Image: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images)
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Aggreived Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner pointed to the 'Old Trafford bounce' after Crystal Palace were hit with a double whammy against Manchester United. Maxence Lacroix was shown a red card after he was adjudged to have brought down Matheus Cunha inside the penalty area, sparking United's comeback.
Palace were leading 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to Lacroix's early goal. But the Frenchman went from hero to zero when he made a desperate grab on Matheus Cunha's shoulder, holding on as the pair raced into the box.
Referee Chris Kavanagh awarded a penalty but was subsequently sent to the VAR monitor to determine Lacroix's fate. The referee quickly made up his mind and sent the Palace centre-back off.
Bruno Fernandes scored the resulting penalty before setting up Benjamin Sesko to make it 2-1, as United claimed all three points. After the match, Glasner questioned the two decisions which flipped the game on its head.
"It is decisive when you are 1-0 up and then concede a penalty and then have one player less," Glasner explained to Match of the Day. "The foul was outside the box and the foul should be given where it starts, not where it ends.
"Matheus Cunha was very clever. We tried everything to get the equaliser and we were in good situations four or five times."
In his post-match press conference, the Palace boss added: "We spoke to the fourth official, they had to check was it offside, where does the foul start and is it a red card. There are a few different situations to judge but it still feels it's the wrong decision.
"It's not a penalty, maybe a red card for a foul outside the box, but the foul starts outside the box. It's maybe a little bit the Old Trafford bounce."
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 1: Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace is shown a Red card and sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on March 1, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Chris Kavanagh showed Maxence Lacroix a red card(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Palace defender Chris Richards also hinted that Kavanagh showed bias towards United. "When you're playing away at a place like Old Trafford, more than likely the home team is going to get a call like that but that is the nature of the game," Richards told Sky Sports.
"Matheus Cunha is a smart player, he knows how to play and if you feel a tug in the box, you're going to go down so credit to him for that. It hurt us a bit of course going a man down but you can't take anything away from our performance today. Regardless of how many people we have on the pitch, we still put in a good performance."