Man United get new Lisandro Martinez red card referee verdict after Cole Palmer flashpoint

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher admitted that Liverpool’s Lisandro Martinez was fortunate his tackle on Chelsea’s Cole Palmer lacked intensity, allowing him to escape with just a yellow card.

The Argentine defender left Liverpool fans holding their breath in the second half after catching Palmer with his studs near the halfway line. Chelsea’s star player, who once represented Manchester City, had just flicked the ball over Martinez’s head before the challenging moment.

Initially, referee Rob Jones showed Martinez a yellow card for the tackle. VAR officials reviewed the decision but ultimately agreed, opting not to take further action.

“I think he’s lucky,” Gallagher, a former Premier League official, remarked. “His starting position is so close to Palmer. If he makes that challenge from a greater distance, with more speed and intensity, that’s when he’d be in trouble.

“Because he’s so close, he doesn’t generate that force—it’s fleeting contact.

“Since it’s such a short distance, he doesn’t build up that intensity.”

While opinion remains divided over Martinez’s challenge on Palmer, there was consensus that Liverpool’s penalty, awarded after Robert Sanchez’s tackle on Rasmus Hojlund, was the correct call.

Explaining the decision, Gallagher said, “I thought penalty at the time and still think penalty; he doesn’t get any of the ball, catches the ankle.

“It’s not too dissimilar to Ederson’s challenge on Anthony Gordon, which I also thought was a penalty. Doesn’t get any of the ball.

“When viewed in slow motion, everything looks more intense—but I think it’s a foul. He challenged with his arms, didn’t take the ball, and caught him on the ankle. The referee gave a penalty, and I don’t think VAR would overrule that.”