Paul Tierney's decision to send off Lisandro Martinez for pulling the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin has sparked a debate, with Rio Ferdinand joining Michael Carrick in criticising it
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand was furious with the decisions that went against Manchester United
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Rio Ferdinand has demanded an explanation from the PGMOL as to why Lisandro Martinez was sent off in Manchester United's defeat by Leeds on Monday night. Martinez was shown a straight red card by Paul Tierney after VAR replays showed him grabbing at Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair.
Noah Okafor's first-half brace won the game for Leeds, with Casemiro's header proving to just be a consolation for the home side. But the major talking point was Martinez's red card in the 56th minute after a tussle with Calvert-Lewin.
The incident was missed on-field by Tierney, but VAR John Brooks sent the referee to the pitchside monitor, where it was decided that Martinez was guilty of violent conduct. Having only just returned from injury, in time to replace the suspended Harry Maguire who was sent off against Bournemouth, Martinez will now serve a three-match ban.
United manager Michael Carrick was furious post-match, describing the decision as "one of the worst I've seen". He also drew attention to an apparent foul by Calvert-Lewin on Leny Yoro in the build-up for the first of Okafor's goals.
And the United boss has been backed up by his former team-mate Ferdinand, who shared a post with screenshots of the two incidents, writing simply: "Explain @FA_PGMOL" on X.
Hair pulling is not specifically mentioned in the FA's laws of the game, but is considered to be violent conduct. As Tierney said on-pitch after watching the replays: “After review, Manchester United 6 is guilty of pulling his hair - violent conduct. Final decision is red card.”
That decision left Carrick furious and he raged in his post-match interview with Sky Sports. “We conceded, which came after Leny Yoro got a forearm smash in the back of his head. They didn't decide to overturn that, which was a big moment in the game," he said.
Rio Ferdinand re-posted criticism of Paul Tierney's decisions
Rio Ferdinand's views on the subject were clear(Image: X)
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"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."
He added: "You can elbow Leny Yoro in the side of the head, a leading arm, obviously. Then you can throw your arm in Licha's face and as he's off-balance because of that, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble out and leads it to look like - I don't even know what it looks like.
"It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all is he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It's shocking."
Lisandro Martinez pulled Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair
Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair
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He received some sympathy from Jamie Carragher. "I don't think any football fan, any player, any manager watching that thinks it's a red card," he said on Monday Night Football. "Everybody in the game is looking at that and thinking it's not a red card, behave yourself."
However, Gary Neville disagreed. Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said: "It's not the equivalent of spitting, but it goes into that type of category that it's something that you just don't do, that you know you get a red card for.
"It's a bit soft. It's a little bit like it's a technical red card. It's not a violent conduct, but it's one of those things that as football players, you know you don't pull someone's hair."
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