The Premier League Match Centre have issued a statement after Lisandro Martinez received a red card against Leeds United for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Referee Paul Tierney was sent to the VAR screen after Manchester United’s Argentine centre-back yanked Calvert-Lewin’s ponytail while competing for an aerial ball. And Martinez was shown red and given his marching orders in the 56th minute with his team already trailing 2-0 to Noah Okafor’s first-half brace.
The statement read: “#MUNLEE – 54′ VAR OVERTURN After VAR review, the referee issued a red card to Martínez for violent conduct. Referee announcement: ‘After review, Manchester United 6 is guilty of pulling his hair – violent conduct. Final decision is red card.'”
United legend Gary Neville, working as a co-commentator for Sky Sports, said of the incident: “You are not getting away with a hair pull… Martinez is looking perplexed and confused. But a hair pull results in a red card these days. He knew what he was doing.”
It comes after Everton defender Michael Keane was punished for a similar foul on Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare back in January. Keane similarly pulled the forward’s hair during an aerial challenge.
That decision left David Moyes irate but Everton were unsuccessful in their attempt to appeal Keane’s dismissal. The Scot’s attempt to overturn the red card was rejected, as was the Toffees’ secondary appeal to reduce the player’s ban from three games.
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel voted unanimously that the red card was the correct decision. And the majority view of the Football Association’s regulatory commission was that “the forceful pulling of a person’s hair can be said to fall outside the normal constituent elements of a challenge in football”.
The panel ruled that “in the wider interests of football ‘hair pulling’ ought not to be tolerated and should be discouraged”.
