Michael Carrick fuming over ‘absolutely shocking’ Lezandro Martinez sacking
After scrutinising his side’s 2-1 home defeat by the Roses’ Champions League rivals Leeds, Michael Carrick described Lisandro Martínez’s second-half dismissal as “absolutely shocking.”
Noah Okafor struck twice inside the opening 30 minutes to spark wild scenes among the Leeds travel fans before Martinez was sent off 11 minutes into the second period after a VAR intervention for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.
United’s 10 men rallied after the break and pulled one back through Casemiro’s 59th-minute header, but Leeds held on for their first league win at Old Trafford in 45 years.
Carrick was furious that referee Paul Tierney was asked to look at the pitch-side monitor before red carding Martinez.
United’s interim head coach said, “He goes to grab his shirt, touches his hair, and the bobble comes out, and you get a red card for that.”
“It’s not aggressive; no jerks, no tugs, no sudden movements. He touches it and looks at it.
If we are redcarding him, we have to be careful where the game is going.
Two forearms to the face is your first goal and it’s considered fine. It’s a shocking decision, an absolutely shocking decision.”
United lost for the first time under Carrick after five consecutive wins at home and also felt Okafor’s early goal should have been disallowed for Calvert Lyon’s challenge on Lenny Euro.
Carrick added: “I have to say, the goal itself,
Lenny Euro gets a forearm to the back of the head, which is worth watching again.
I don’t know how it fails to reverse. What are we sending for? It’s an obvious arm smash on the back of his head.”
Leeds moved six points clear of the relegation zone after their second win of the season and their first in the Premier League at Old Trafford.
The West Yorkshire club has not won the league against their fiercest rivals since 1981, and this was their first victory against United since winning the FA Cup in 2010.
Boss Daniel Farke couldn’t hide his delight, saying, “I’m very proud, of course; I think it’s our first win in the Premier League at Old Trafford and our first win in four decades in the league.
“It feels fantastic. It’s the ‘crunch time’ period; we’re playing under a bit of pressure.
We missed many chances and could have secured the game early. We had to put in a lot of effort, but there’s no doubt that we deserved to win the game.
Leeds face Wolves at Elland Road on Saturday when they can move nine points clear of the bottom three.
The German added: “We’re doing a little bit to get rid of the old narrative that ‘Leeds are falling apart again’.”
“It feels like we really deliver under pressure. Nothing has been achieved yet; I’m not too confident or celebrating.
“We take pride in our victory, but we must remember our origins.” We must remain committed to our goals. I don’t want to celebrate too much.”
