Michael Carrick described Lisandro Martinez’s dismissal as ‘absolutely shocking’ after Manchester United suffered a 2-1 loss against Leeds United last night.
United players looked rusty after returning to action for the first time since drawing 2-2 at Bournemouth on March 20.
Noah Okafor scored with a clinical first-time effort after just five minutes. He added another with a shot that flicked off Leny Yoro and into the corner just before the half-hour mark.
United suffered a big blow early in the second half when Martinez was shown a red card after a VAR intervention for tugging on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.
Despite being a man down, Carrick’s men rallied to pull one back through Casemiro’s 59th-minute header. Leeds held on to seal their first league victory at Old Trafford in 45 years.
Carrick was unhappy with the red card and said the club may appeal the decision.
He said: “The arm [is] in the face of Lisandro, and he is off balance and grappling. He goes to touch his shirt and gets a red card for it.
“It is not aggressive, there is no jolt, no tug. We have got to be careful where the game is going. It is a shocking decision, absolutely shocking.
“The red card, that is really concerning. I know he touched his hair. There is a difference to really aggressively touching it.”
"That was one of the worst I've seen" 😬
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 13, 2026
Michael Carrick says the decision to send Lisandro Martínez off was 'shocking' 😡 pic.twitter.com/t6nBBWvysO
Despite the defeat, United are seven points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, who lost 3-0 to Manchester City on Sunday.
Martinez’s red card means he will miss the next three games against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool.
Harry Maguire is also at risk of missing Saturday’s home clash against the Blues after being hit with an FA charge alleging improper conduct.
The club will find out about Maguire’s availability in the next 48 hours.
