Michael Carrick was left furious at Lisandro Martinez’s red card after Manchester United slumped to a 2-1 defeat to rivals Leeds at Old Trafford on Monday night.
The Red Devils were surprisingly subdued throughout the contest, with first-half goals from Noah Okafor enough for the visitors to secure all three points.
In the 56th minute of the match, Martinez was dismissed for pulling the hair of Leeds hitman Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Though United did manage to pull one back through Casemiro, Carrick still suffered his first home defeat since replacing Ruben Amorim on a temporary basis in January.
Martinez was left bemused by his dismissal, with the Argentina international comforted by Joshua Zirkzee as he trudged down the tunnel.
And Carrick has insisted the former Ajax defender was unlucky to receive his marching orders, calling the red card a ‘shocking’ decision and ‘one of the worst’ he’s ever seen.
He stated: “A shocking decision to send Licha 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 ever seen.
Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair in Man United’s defeat to Leeds
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“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 that he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It’s shocking.”
Lisandro Martinez was comforted by Joshua Zirkzee after his dismissal in Man United’s shock loss to Leeds
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While it was a disappointing night for Carrick and his side, it was a sensational evening for Leeds.
Daniel Farke’s men have now put crucial ground between themselves and their rivals as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
Farke, when asked for his view, insisted that he was in no position to speak because he hadn’t watched it back.
“A hair pull and for that a red card, once VAR has watched it and said ‘okay’ you have to break and the ref watches it, it’s a red card. I haven’t seen it,” he said.
“I was worried because we had such good momentum and sometimes such a situation can change the momentum.
“I would have preferred more or less than play 11 v 11 but it is how it is.
Leeds were impressive as they beat Man United at Old Trafford
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“But in the end we won the game and I don’t complain.”
United have now spurned a chance to move ahead of Aston Villa outright.
They lead Unai Emery’s side on goal difference after Villa could only draw with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Their next match will be against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues currently in dire form under Liam Rosenior.
As for Leeds, they’re now six points above the relegation zone.
Their next match is against Wolves on Saturday (3pm).
