Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has received another red card, this time during the team’s goalless draw against Southampton. The Brazilian was sent off for a high challenge on Carlos Alcaraz, just weeks after being red carded during the team’s win over Crystal Palace. The latest red card means that Casemiro will miss the next four domestic games. This lack of consistency has irked Erik ten Hag, who made reference to Leicester defender Ricardo Pereira escaping a red card for a stamp on Chelsea’s Joao Felix on Saturday – a match Marriner officiated. Ten Hag also spoke about how Casemiro never received a straight red throughout his nine-year spell at Real Madrid, which saw him play more than 330 times.
Ten Hag believes that there is an inconsistency in the way that the rules are being applied, and players are unsure of what the policy is. He cited the example of the VAR not coming on the line during the Leicester-Chelsea match, despite there being two penalty situations. Ten Hag believes that this inconsistency is causing confusion among players and referees alike.
Adebayo Akinfenwa, a talkSPORT commentator, has labelled Ten Hag’s comments as ‘irrelevant’. He believes that Casemiro needs to adapt his game in England and that different officials and tackles mean that it is a different playing style. The tackles that Casemiro has been sent off for are red card offences, and therefore Ten Hag’s comments are irrelevant.
Casemiro has recently served a three-match ban for grabbing Will Hughes’ throat and now he’s banned for another four. The Brazilian midfielder will need to adapt his game if he wants to continue playing in the Premier League.