Manchester United were reduced to 10 men in the second half against Leeds when Lisandro Martinez was shown a red card.
13:15, 14 Apr 2026Updated 15:41, 14 Apr 2026
Martinez briefly pulled on Calvert-Lewin’s hair.(Image: Sky Sports)
Do you remember the angry handshake between Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in August 2022? The exchange went down in Premier League folklore.
Tensions boiled over between players and coaching staff that afternoon, which saw Tottenham snatch a late equaliser in the phase of play after VAR had missed a pull of Marc Cucurella’s hair.
Cristian Romero pulled the hair of Cucurella and Mike Dean, working on VAR that afternoon, failed to send referee Anthony Taylor to the monitor. Dean admitted he’d made a mistake and a precedent was set.
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Southampton defender Jack Stephens was sent off for a hair pull in December 2024. VAR spotted the action and the referee looked at the monitor before showing Stephens a straight red card for violent conduct.
Earlier this year, Everton defender Michael Keane was shown a red card for pulling the hair of Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare. David Moyes argued it could not be violent conduct because Keane was challenging for a header.
Everton appealed and the controversial incident was reviewed by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel, but the majority view of the panel was that “the forceful pulling of a person’s hair can be said to fall outside the normal constituent elements of a challenge in football”.
The panel voted 2:1 that the red card was not incorrect and three games were not excessive. How each panel member voted was not revealed. Moyes later said that he was “angry” with the panel’s decision.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Joao Neves was sent off in a similar incident during last summer’s Club World Cup, while Germany defender Kathrin Hendrich was sent off for a hair-pull at the women’s Euros.
Hair-pulling offences have become much more prevalent since the introduction of VAR, which can stop the game after spotting such off-the-ball incidents, but how ‘violent conduct’ is interpreted should be the main talking point after Lisandro Martinez was sent off for Manchester United against Leeds on Monday night.
Martinez was shown a red card.(Image: 2026 James Gill – Danehouse)
Michael Carrick was furious with the decision, which he said was “one of the worst” calls he’d seen, while Bruno Fernandes did not share his opinion for fear of attention from the FA.
United are considering lodging an appeal. “I know he touched his hair, but there’s a difference between touching someone’s hair the way he has and pushing someone’s hair really aggressively and tugging on it,” said Carrick.
IFAB’s guidelines define violent conduct as “when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a teammate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.”
It was obvious that Martinez’s action was not forceful, and it’s not clear whether it was even intentional, so it surely cannot be violent conduct, but the problem is that a precedent has already been set.
The rules are hugely frustrating, and should be changed, but players must be aware of what happens if they touch an opponent’s hair until the day the PGMOL admit they must soften their stance.
Was Martinez’s red card soft? Absolutely. Should he have known better and not put himself in that position? It’s easier said than done because he was in the midst of a competitive top-flight game, but yes.
Carrick pointed at the grapple between Martinez and Calvert-Lewin, who were battling for the ball, which is a fair point to make, but Martinez had to do battle within the frustrating rules that are set out.
Once VAR had spotted the slight pull on Calvert-Lewin’s hair, there was only going to be one decision under PGMOL precedent, although another frustrating aspect is that VAR has sometimes been unable to provide adequate camera angles when looking at hair pulls.
In February, Fulham defender Kenny Tete could have been sent off for pulling the hair of Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo, but without a clear view from the camera angles available, Tete escaped punishment.
“I don’t know [why Tete wasn’t sent off]. I’d like to think I knew what they mean by these rules,” said Joe Hart on commentary. “If the rule is, ‘if you pull someone’s hair, then you’re getting sent off’, then of course that’s a red card.”
The rules are not clear. They must be reviewed and implemented consistently.
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