Why Martinez escaped red card — PGMOL issues a statement to explain

The Professional Game Match Official Limited [PGMOL] released a statement explaining why Lisandro Martinez was not sent off for a foul on Cole Palmer.

PGMOL, England’s football refereeing body, has explained why Lisandro Martinez avoided a red card after he tackled Cole Palmer during Manchester United’s draw over Chelsea on Sunday.

Rare quality from Moises Caicedo offset Bruno Fernandes’ penalty to help the visitors move past Chelsea and leapfrog Arsenal in the Premier League standings.

It wasn’t a memorable game in Manchester, but one of the big stories came in extra time when referee Robert Jones had to make an awkward decision. With a minute left, United defender Lisandro Martinez tackled Cole Palmer on his knee.

VAR Michael Salisbury continued to review the incident, but surprisingly he did not upgrade the yellow card to red. Following the incident, the Premier League Match Center issued a statement regarding the incident.

“The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer,” they said. “VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge and not serious foul play.”

And Roy Keane said he [Martinez] was “very lucky” for not getting a red card

Let’s take a look at how fans on social media reacted to Martinez’s foul on Palmer.

One person said: “How did Lisandro Martinez get away with a red card? The inconsistency in this League is unbelievable,” while another said: “How did he not get the red card?”

The third comment says: “Lisandro Martinez’s biggest asset as a player is avoiding red cards, which in other scenarios would mean a total sending off.”

A fourth wrote: “Lisandro Martinez should have been shown a straight red card”, while a fifth wrote: “Like Bruno didn’t get a red card against Tottenham and they are suddenly campaigning to let him receive one.”

“The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer,” they said. “VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge and not serious foul play.”

This was one of the main talking points of Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Chelsea.