Man Utd's Martinez sent off for hair-pull - is three-match ban justified?

ByAdwaidh Rajan

BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was sent off after 56 minutes for pulling the hair of Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Old Trafford.

Martinez, 28, was shown a straight red card and will now face a three-match suspension.

United were trailing 2-0 after Noah Okafor's first-half double when the Argentine tried to stop the Leeds attacker by holding his hair in an off-the-ball incident.

Referee Paul Tierney was instructed to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee (VAR) before sending off Martinez.

"After review, Manchester United 6 is guilty of pulling his hair - violent conduct. Final decision is red card," Tierney announced to the stadium.

The Premier League Match Centre posted on X: "After VAR review, the referee issued a red card to Martinez for violent conduct."

"Martinez looks perplexed and confused: 'What have I done?'" former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.

"He's pulled his hair and that results in a red card, nowadays. He knows what he's doing there."

Martinez was making his first Premier League start for United since a 1-1 draw against West Ham on 10 February, after recovering from a calf injury.

It is the second consecutive league game in which United have had a defender sent off, after Harry Maguire saw a red card in the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth before the international break.

"The after-effects could be serious," said BBC Sport's Manchester United reporter Simon Stone.

"Martinez will be banned for Saturday's trip to Chelsea. Maguire is expecting to find out whether he is going to get an extra game suspension for his red card.

"If he does, 19-year-old Ayden Heaven and 20-year-old Leny Yoro will be Michael Carrick's only fit central defenders at Stamford Bridge."

While hair pulling is not specifically mentioned in the Laws of the Game, it is categorised as 'violent conduct' as it cannot be considered as something you would legitimately do when challenging for the ball.

Everton's Michael Keane received a three-match suspension for pulling the hair of Wolves' Tolu Arokodare in a 1-1 draw in January.

"If you have longer hair, then there's a fair chance you'll get it pulled," Everton manager David Moyes said at the time.

At the start of 2023-24, Tottenham's Cristian Romero wrongly escaped a VAR red card after pulling the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella - that proved to be a reference point for the future.

Southampton's Jack Stephens was dismissed for doing it to Cucurella, as was Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves at last summer's Club World Cup.

Then at the Women's Euros, Germany's Kathrin Hendrich looked shocked after she was sent off for pulling the hair of France's Griedge Mbock.

And earlier this month, Arsenal's Katie McCabe avoided a red card for pulling Chelsea's Alyssa Thompson's hair during their Women's Champions League quarter-final exit.

Callum, London: You don't accidently pull hair. Can see why people would say 'soft' but it's the rules and it's clear as day. Red.

Bill, Manchester: I am a staunch Man Utd fan. You know we're without Maguire and wasn't someone sent off recently for pulling hair? If you're close enough to pull hair, pull his shirt. Stupidity and deserves red all day long, especially when you're 2-0 down.

Will, Rugby: Since when was it an automatic red for hair pulling? A foul OK, but a straight red? No!! You can tug a player's shirt but no red! I mean, what's next? Harsh language? This is a competitive sport.

Paul, Newmarket: Absolute joke of a red card. Seen harder ones not given in the women's game. (McCabe comes to mind here.) Barely took his bobble out. DCL incidentally should have been booked for diving in the box. Tierney is having an awful game. No consistency!

Chris, Preston: There should also be zero tolerance for pulling someone back by the shirt or the arm but there isn't and they are far more likely to cause injury.

Chris, Nottingham: I genuinely don't think I have seen a red card as daft as that. Utterly ludicrous!