Martinez received a red card after VAR discovered a light hair pull for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in Man United's 1-2 defeat to Leeds United at Old Trafford.
After referee Paul Tierney was asked to review the video, he sent off Martinez. This center-back even faced the risk of being suspended for 3 matches.
According to coach Michael Carrick, the red card for Martinez is too heavy.
First of all, Lisandro Martinez was attacked in the face by the opponent with his hand, so he lost balance in that ball, he almost only intended to touch the other person and grab his shirt, but in the end he hit his head, touched the back of his hair, causing the bun to fall out and received a red card.
Lisandro has no excessive actions, no strong jerks, no pulls, no sudden movements. He just touches it lightly and glances at the opponent.
If we get a red card for such mistakes, we have to be careful to see how the match will go. That was a shocking decision, completely shocking," Carrick said after the match.
Man United were 0-2 behind Leeds after the first half with a double by Noah Okafor, but Carrick was even more annoyed when the referee allowed Leeds' early opening goal to be recognized after Calvert-Lewin used his hand to hit defender Leny Yoro in a previous challenge.
“We didn't start the match very well. We conceded a goal, this happened after Leny Yoro was elbowed in the back of the head. The referee did not review the ball. That was an important moment in the match.
We didn't really catch up with the match, didn't coordinate well. We had a few good moments but generally didn't maintain that form for most of the half," Carrick admitted Man United's poor form in the first half.
Some English football commentators such as Roy Keane or Carragher all agree with Carrick, that Martinez's red card is too heavy.
Martinez is trying to get the ball, and Calvert-Lewin did nothing wrong, just reached out his hand. Martinez is almost struggling, he is just trying to grab something. Maybe a shirt or anything.
I don't think any football fan, any player, any coach watching the match would think it was a red card. Everyone in the football world looked at that situation and thought it wasn't a red card," Carragher shared.
The defeat has not yet caused Man United to drop from 3rd place. However, they are only ahead of Aston Villa in goal difference and slightly ahead of Liverpool by 3 points.
