Carrick: Another Scandalous Decision Against Us

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was furious with the referees following his team's 2-1 Premier League loss to Leeds. He voiced complaints regarding both an uncalled foul on Leny Yoro leading to Leeds' first goal, and the red card issued to Lisandro Martinez for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's ponytail during a challenge for the ball.

"We didn't start the game particularly well. Obviously, we conceded a goal when Leny Yoro was hit in the back of the head with an arm, and they scored the first goal. The referees decided not to disallow it. That was a key moment in the game. We didn't have the rhythm we needed, things weren't going our way; we had some moments, but for most of the first half, we weren't at our best. But in the second half, I think the lads, given their approach, stayed positive and fought to get something from the game after another scandalous, scandalous decision to send off Lisandro Martinez. For two consecutive games, similar decisions have gone against us, but this was one of the worst I've ever seen," Carrick fumed.

But the manager didn't stop there, continuing his analysis of the officiating.

"You can elbow Leny Yoro for the first goal – a clear hand movement; you can stick a hand in Martinez's face, and then, as he loses his balance because of it and tries to steady himself, he touches the back of his hair, causing the elastic to fall off. I don't even know what that looks like. It's not a pull, it's not a yank, it's not aggressive. He touches it and gets sent off.

Worst of all, the referee is sent to review the decision for a 'clear and obvious error.' Scandalous," the specialist added.

Nevertheless, he admitted that it wasn't a particularly good match for his team.

"The lads gave their all. That's football – sometimes you have poor spells in games, other times you don't. We know we can be better and do things better. Obviously, we'll analyze this. In the second half, we could have gotten something from the game, and I'm pleased with our approach. At halftime, we talked about scoring the next goal and trying to win the game. Obviously, it became harder when we went down to ten men," the Englishman concluded.