Michael Carrick rages at ref over two Man Utd decisions in Leeds loss

Michael Carrick was absolutely furious with referee Paul Tierney and the officials as 10-man Manchester United lost 2-1 to Leeds United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils missed a chance to cement third place in the Premier League table and paid the price for a dire first half in which Noah Okafor put the Whites 2-0 up by the half-hour mark. Lisandro Martinez was sent off for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the hour and despite the 10-man hosts halving the deficit through Casemiro soon after, they fell to their first league defeat at Old Trafford to Leeds since 1981.

Yet interim manager Carrick was raging in his post-match interview and called out two incidents he felt went against his team, with one of them being the red card. The 44-year-old was also unhappy with what he felt was a foul on Leny Yoro by Dominic Calvert-Lewin before Okafor opened the scoring after just five minutes. Carrick told Sky Sports: “We didn’t start the game particularly well. We conceded, which came after Leny Yoro got a forearm smashed in the back of his head then they score. They didn’t decide to overturn that decision so that’s a big moment in the game.

“We didn’t quite have the rhythm, we didn’t click. We had some moments but it wasn’t there for large parts of the half. Second half I thought the boys stayed positive and fought for everything and tried to get something after another shocking, shocking decision to send Licha off. That’s two games in a row we’ve had those decisions go against us. That one is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

“You can elbow Leny Yoro in the side of the head, leaning arm obviously, and then you can throw your arm in Licha’s face. As he’s off balance because of that, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble and out and leads it to look like… I don’t even know what it looks like. It’s not a pull, it’s not a tug, it’s not aggressive. He touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all, he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It’s shocking.”

United captain Bruno Fernandes was similarly frustated as he refused to go into detail: “I’m not talking about the referee, if I talk about the referee I’m going to get in very big trouble because the rules are different for everyone and applied different for everyone. The difference in the yellow cards, you can also see it, so it’s better that I don’t say anything.”

Calvert-Lewin said to the broadcaster on the red card: “I don’t know, I don’t make the rules at the end of the day. I felt my hair get pulled and I obviously told the ref. He’s the one who makes the decisions. Unfortunate for him [Martinez]. Whether he’s meant it or not, I don’t hold grudges, it is what it is isn’t it.”

Sky pundits Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane both felt the decision was harsh. Keane said: “I can see it from both sides and when you class it as violent conduct, it feels really harsh. But we’ve seen other players getting sent off. It is harsh but if that’s the laws of the game, then you have to accept it.”

Carragher added: “He’s going for the ball and he’s almost grappling. He’s trying to grab onto something and he’s caught the back of his hair – it could’ve been his hair or anything. He’s got him for about half a second. We hear from Howard Webb and he says ‘what does the game want?’

“I don’t think any football fan, manager or player is thinking ‘that’s a red card’. Everybody is looking at that and thinking ‘oh come on, that is not a red card, behave yourself.'”

The incident comes after a similar sending off for Michael Keane, who was punished for a tug on Wolves forward Tolu Arokodare’s hair in January. Everton appealed the decision, and also tried to reduce his three-game ban, but saw both appeals rejected despite manager David Moyes’ anger.

United meanwhile have now won only one of their last four Premier League matches, and have had a man sent off in each of their last two outings. But in-form Leeds, who are also into the FA Cup semi-finals, are unbeaten in five across all competitions and moved six points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham in the relegation battle with this win.

Leeds manager Daniel Farke reacted: “We should have been more than 2-0 up in the first half, if I’m honest. Sometimes a red card can change something.

“We fell asleep at one set-piece and then it’s more the Man Utd way and it’s difficult to bring it over the line as a newly promoted side. To get a first win here in whatever it is, 40 years, is amazing and of course a big step forward.”