‘Behave yourself’: Carragher left in absolute disbelief over what he saw at Old Trafford tonight, Carrick agrees

TL;DR

Jamie Carragher expressed disbelief over the officiating during Manchester United's loss to Leeds United, particularly regarding Lisandro Martinez's red card for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair.

‘Behave yourself’: Carragher left in absolute disbelief over what he saw at Old Trafford tonight, Carrick agrees

Jamie Carragher was left in disbelief over tonight’s officiating in Manchester United’s defeat to Leeds United.

Namely, the fact that Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.

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Lisandro Martinez sent off for violent conduct

The incident wasn’t initially picked up by on-field referee Paul Tierney, although Calvert-Lewin did reveal post-match that he had voiced his complaints immediately after he felt the tug.

It wasn’t until those in the VAR booth analysed the passage of play that Tierney was sent to the pitchside monitor to have a look for himself, after which he returned to show Martinez a straight red.

Consequently, the Argentine will now miss the next three matches against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool, having only just returned from a five-game absence due to injury.

Reports tonight have suggested United will look to appeal the decision, although it remains to be seen how much joy they’ll get if they do opt to do so.

What Jamie Carragher and Michael Carrick had to say

Reacting to the night’s affairs on Sky Sports’ coverage, Carragher told the panel: “Howard Webb, who we speak to maybe two or three times a season, comes out with a line on certain situations that I actually like; sometimes it’s not about the rulebook, it’s about actually what the game wants.

“I don’t think any football fan, I don’t think anybody – any football manager, any player watching that at home, is sitting there thinking, ‘Yeah, I think that’s a red card’.

“I think everybody in the game is looking at that and thinking, ‘Oh, come on. That is not a red card. Behave yourself!’”

Meanwhile, when Michael Carrick was pressed on the matter in his subsequent media duties, he told reporters: “There is an arm in the face of Lisandro to start. He goes to balance and touches his (Calvert-Lewin’s) hair.

“The bobble comes out. It’s not aggressive. We need to be careful where the game is going. If you can do arms in the face, that’s alright. Absolutely shocking decision. I hope Licha is still available.”