What the law says about hair pulling after Man United’s Lisandro Martinez red card controversy

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was controversially sent off during the defeat to Leeds on Monday night

Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez was controversially sent off for pulling the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin during Monday night’s Premier League match with Leeds United.

With United already 2-0 down, the dismissal left the Reds with an uphill battle to get anything out of the game and although Casemiro pulled a goal back, they were beaten 2-1. After the match, a furious Michael Carrick slammed the decision.

“He [Martinez] gets an arm in the face to start with, so he’s off balance and they’re grappling, and then he almost just goes to touch him and grab his shirt,” the interim head coach said. “And he ends up catching his hair, and touching the back of his hair.

“Then the bobble comes out and you get a red card for it. It’s not aggressive, there’s no jolt, no tug, no sudden movement, he kind of touches it, glances through it, and we’ve got to be careful with where the game is going if you’re getting red cards for that.

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“But then you can do two arms in the face for the first goal, and that is deemed alright. It’s a shocking decision, an absolutely shocking decision.”

Referee Paul Tierney reviewed VAR before sending Martinez off and the Premier League Match Centre explained his final decision.

“After VAR review, the referee issued a red card to Martinez for violent conduct,” they wrote on X. “Referee announcement: ‘After review, Manchester United 6 is guilty of pulling his hair – violent conduct. Final decision is red card.'” Martinez is now set to miss three games through suspension unless the Reds successfully appeal the dismissal.

Were they to appeal the decision, United would find the rules on hair pulling open to interpretation. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) define the laws of the game in England.

Hair pulling is not mentioned specifically in IFAB’s rules but there is a definition for violent conduct. The laws state: “Violent conduct is 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.

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“In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible.”

United will argue the force used by Martinez was negligible. However, a precedent has been set for hair pulling in recent seasons.

Players, particularly in the women’s game, have been sent off for hair pulling regardless of how long the offence lasts. Michael Keane was sent off for Everton for a similar offence earlier in the season. Currently, Martinez will miss the matches against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool.