The Premier League has backed up referee Robert Jones’ decision not to give Lisandro Martinez his marching orders after the Manchester United ace’s shocking tackle on Cole Palmer.
During Sunday’s clash with Chelsea, Martinez started next to Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back. United’s captain Bruno Fernandes gave his side the lead on 70 minutes after scoring a penalty. However, just four minutes later, the scoreline was levelled by Moises Caicedo, snatching a draw for the Blues.
And controversy peaked in injury time when Martinez produced a shocking challenge on Palmer. The Argentine recklessly hoisted his boot into Palmer’s knee at studs-height with the ball already gone. Referee Jones deemed it a bookable offence, flashing a yellow.
VAR operator Michael Salisbury assessed the incident yet didn’t consider it worthy of an escalated sanction to a red card. The Premier League has now confirmed its agreed with Jones’ lenient stance, reports the Mirror.
A Premier League statement read: “The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge.”
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BBC Radio 5 Live heard former Man United player Dion Dublin say that Martinez got off lightly, commenting: “Martinez seems to show his studs. Palmer puts the ball over his head. Martinez lifts his foot and brings him down. He’s very lucky.”
Red Devils icon Gary Neville supported that perspective and also believed Martinez deserved marching orders. Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville claimed: “Lisandro Martinez is lucky. I think it’s a red.”
And Neville’s fellow Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Jamie Redknapp were also in agreement too. Keane called him a “lucky boy”, while Redknapp added the challenge was “nasty” and “reckless”.