Man Utd's Martinez Banned for Hair Pulling

0:00On April 24th, Manchester United Defender, Lassandro Martinez, just had his three-game band upheld by a football association panel for hair pulling. The 28-year-old got a straight-wreck card in their 2-1 loss to Leeds at Old Trafford after yanking Dominic Calvert Lewin's hair during an off-ball tussle. The incident happened late in the second half, with United down 2-0. Referee Paul Tierney reviewed it on the pitch-side monitor after VAR called him over, and the panel backed the call, rejecting United's appeal flat, out. Manager Michael Carrick blasted the decision as one of the worst he's seen, saying Martinez was just off-balance and grappling, not really pulling. Aggressively, Calvert Lewin felt it enough to tell the ref right after. The panel stressed hair pulling ain't cool in football, even if it doesn't risk as much harm as other violent stuff. They noted cases like Everton's Michael Keane, getting dinged earlier this year for the same thing on Wolves-Taloo-era Coder, appeal shot down to.

1:00Martinez already missed the Chelsea win, and sits out Brentford on April 27th and Liverpool on May 3rd. This sets a firm line, football's drawing that boundary on playground antics turning profile.