Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has complained about the inconsistency of video assistant referees and insisted Casemiro was not the only player who should have been sent off in the win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
United’s Brazilian midfielder will serve a three-match ban after receiving a red card from referee Andre Marriner, who was sent to the monitor to review a second-half scrum sparked by a clash between United winger Antony and Palace midfielder Jeffrey Schlupp.
The United players reacted when Schlupp pushed Antony towards the perimeter boards, a move which Ten Hag said could have left his player “seriously injured”.
Casemiro was caught hands around the neck of Palace midfielder Will Hughes, but Ten Hag felt visiting striker Jordan Ayew should have been fired as well.
United’s 10 men held on to win the game 2-1, a result that lifted them to third in the Premier League.
Ten Hag accepted Casemiro ‘crossed the line’ but after losing Christian Eriksen for four months after being injured in a tackle by Reading’s Andy Carroll last week which went unpunished, the Dutchman asked why Ayew hadn’t been fired for grabbing Fred around the throat like Good.
“I see two teams fighting,” Ten Hag said. “I see two teams where several players have crossed the line and one player is picked and sent off. For me, that’s not right.
“When you freeze, Casemiro has crossed the line. But a lot more players cross the line.
“It’s about consistency. You don’t want to lose players when colleagues hurt each other so badly like the player did last week against Christian Eriksen. The Crystal Palace player started that.
“Casemiro protects our player and also protects the player who wants to attack. He holds him back – he protects him, he doesn’t want to hurt the player.”
When asked if he thinks Ayew should have been kicked out as well, Ten Hag replied, “Certainly.”
Casemiro will now serve a three-match ban which covers two games against Leeds over the next eight days, as well as the Premier League meeting with Leicester at Old Trafford on February 19.
This gives Ten Hag a personnel problem he could do without given Eriksen’s absence and Scott McTominay’s current injury.
However, he was happy that his players defended as a sign of team unity.
“This team is united,” he said. “There is such a good spirit in the team and they don’t accept it when one of our players can be seriously injured.”
