Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez will serve a three-match Premier League suspension after his red card for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin — ruling him out of Saturday’s match at Chelsea.
The 28-year-old Argentina international was dismissed in Monday’s defeat at home to Leeds United after VAR John Brooks called referee Paul Tierney to the screen for the incident, which United appealed on the grounds Martinez did not pull with force and was challenging for the ball.
Referees told clubs at the start of the season hair pulling would be seen as violent conduct and United’s appeal has been unsuccessful.
Manchester United are down to 10 men.
Lisandro Martinez is sent off for violent conduct after being adjudged to have pulled the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin when challenging for a header.
The Argentina international looked bemused as he was shown his marching orders. pic.twitter.com/KJFLphBmlO
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) April 13, 2026
The defender will miss games against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool, and will next be available for the game at Sunderland on May 9.
Martinez’s absence is compounded by Harry Maguire’s suspension after his sending off against he had a misconduct charge held up against him following his sending off at Bournemouth on March 20. Both the red card and follow-up misconduct charge resulted in two one-match suspensions, the first of which was served against Leeds on Monday.
“We didn’t agree with it, it’s obvious how I felt after the game, and I still feel that way now,” United head coach Michael Carrick said on Friday. “I don’t want to go into it now, it is what it is. We have to accept it and move on.”
On Monday, Carrick described the red card as a “shocking decision”.
Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are the only recognised centre-backs in United’s senior squad, with Matthijs de Ligt still unavailable through a long-term absence. Manuel Ugarte, a midfielder by trade, played in defence following Martinez’s red card against Leeds.
Kobbie Mainoo, who missed Monday’s match against Leeds through injury, is in contention to feature against Chelsea. “There is a decision to be made,” said Carrick.
Patrick Dorgu, who has been out through injury since January, remains unavailable.
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