Man Utd set to launch Lisandro Martinez red card appeal after Michael Carrick comments

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Manchester United will appeal Lisandro Martinez ’s ‘shocking’ red card against Leeds . The Argentine defender was dismissed at Old Trafford on Monday evening for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.

Martinez now faces a three-match ban and could potentially miss upcoming games against Chelsea , Brentford and Liverpool .

But United are determined to have the centre-back available for the run-in as they aim to secure a spot in the Champions League . As per The Telegraph, United will lodge an appeal in the hope that the red card gets overturned.

One man who will be keen to see the ban cancelled is United boss Michael Carrick , who was left furious at the decision to send the defender off.

Speaking after his side’s defeat to Leeds , Carrick said: "It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all is he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It's shocking.

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"He's off-balance because of that, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble out and leads it to look like - I don't even know what it looks like. That's two games in a row we've had those decisions go against us, but that one was one of the worst I've seen."

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher gave his thoughts on the decision and claimed that Martinez should not have been dismissed.

He said: "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," said the ex-Liverpool star.

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"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'."

United icon Roy Keane also offered his verdict and suggested that he could see why Martinez was sent off despite the decision being ‘harsh’. He added: "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."

Martinez, 28, has played 15 Premier League games for United this season, having been blighted by both knee and calf injuries throughout the campaign.