November 3rd 2024.
Enzo Maresca, a former player and now a pundit, expressed his frustration over the decision to not send off Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez for his reckless challenge on Chelsea's Cole Palmer. The incident occurred during their match at Old Trafford, which ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a goal from Moises Caicedo for Chelsea and a penalty from Bruno Fernandes for United.
As the game was coming to an end, Martinez was shown a yellow card for his tackle on Palmer. However, upon further inspection through VAR, referee Robert Jones did not deem it necessary to review the incident. This decision was met with criticism from pundits Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Frank Lampard, who all believed that Martinez was lucky not to have been sent off.
After the match, Maresca, who is now a coach for Chelsea, revealed that Palmer was receiving treatment in the changing room and they were still waiting to assess the extent of his injury. He also expressed his disappointment with the referee's decision, stating that it was a clear red card offense.
In the heat of the moment, Martinez's challenge was described as a "nasty tackle" by Keane, who also pointed out that Palmer had made a fool out of the defender with his skillful move. Lampard, a former Chelsea player and manager, also joined in the criticism and stated that it was a clear red card for intention.
Despite the controversy surrounding the incident, the match ended in a draw and both teams will now have to wait for the next round of fixtures to secure their spots in the top four of the Premier League. It remains to be seen if any action will be taken against Martinez for his challenge, but one thing is for sure, it was a moment that had everyone talking.
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