'One of the worst decisions I've seen' - what's the Premier League rules on hair pulling?

Martin Macdonald

• 14 Apr 2026 05:30 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick says the decision to send Lisandro Martinez off in the match against Leeds on Monday is one of the worst he has ever seen.

The Red Devils were hoping to consolidate their third-place spot in the Premier League but were blown away by Leeds in the first half, as the Yorkshire side went into the break 2-0 up.

The match would eventually finish 2-1, and United's hopes of a comeback took a hit 10 minutes into the second period when Martinez was given a straight red card for pulling the hair of striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Carrick was furious at the decision, to say the least.

"That decision was one of the worst I've ever seen," United's interim manager said post-match.

"He [Calvert-Lewin] can throw his arms in Licha's [Martinez's] face - and then he's sent off. Shocking.

"I don't even know what it looks like. It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive. He touches it and he gets sent off.

"Worse of all, he gets sent to overturn it, a clear and obvious error. Shocking. He is off balance and grappling.

"We have got to be careful where the game is going. It is a shocking decision, absolutely shocking."

What are the rules?

The incident is rare enough that when it does happen, there's a lot of uncertainty among supporters.

While it not seem a particularly violent act, it is deemed to be an act of 'violent conduct' within Premier League rules.

The rules state:

Violent conduct is a serious physical offence which is punished with a free kick (if the ball is in play) and a red card. Some violent-conduct offences are not fouls because they:

- Do not involve an attempt to play the ball, e.g. punching, kicking, head-butting

- Occur away from the ball

- Occur when play has been stopped, eg. reaction to being fouled

Previous incidents were rare so hair-pulling was added to the violent conduct rules after Tottenham defender Cristian Romero snatched at the long hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella in a match in 2023 and escaped punishment.

Jack Stephens of Southampton and Joao Neves of Paris Saint-Germain have also been dismissed for pulling Cucurella's hair.

In January, Everton's Michael Keane received a three-match ban for pulling the hair of Wolves' Tolu Arokodare.

During punditry on the Man Utd vs Leeds game, Roy Keane told Sky Sports: "I can see both sides. When you class this as violent conduct this seems really harsh. It is harsh but when looking at the laws you have to accept it."

Jamie Carragher added: "I think that is soft. He is going for the ball, trying to grab hold of something and he has got it for half a second... I don't think any football fan, any player is thinking that is a red card."

Gary Neville, on commentary, insisted Martinez knew was he was doing.

The incident marked the second match in a row that United have had a man sent off after Harry Maguire was dismissed versus Bournemouth.

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