Mason Mount Man United Old Trafford
Man United Old Trafford

Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at home but the talking point of the match was Casemiro picking up a red card.

The midfielder was shown a direct red after VAR footage showed him grabbing Will Hughes by the neck during a scuffle between the two teams. The incident occurred when Schlupp shoved Antony down the touchline and VAR has to intervene, resulting in the sending-off.

Most people felt that the sending-off was correct but former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has backed Casemiro, saying that the booking was harsh.

“It changed it definitely, I thought it was a harsh red card because there’s a melee in the corner, you can see everyone coming together, there’s pushing and shoving and grabbing and everything else,” Shearer said(h/t Football London).

“Then, the referee is actually sent to the screen. Watch the referee [Andre Marriner] when he actually goes to the screen, the angle that he’s shown, he’s shown it still, he’s shown it in slow motion in that position and in that angle.

“But, there’s another angle that doesn’t look anywhere near as bad and in this angle on here, you can see he’s got hold of him, the shirt rather than round the neck.

“There’s a lot more going on ie [Jordan] Ayew and Fred and what have you, you can see there’s slaps and pushing and shoving and grabbing and everything else.”

Will Man United appeal against the Casemiro red card?

Unlike Shearer, Erik ten Hag has made it clear the incident warranted a red card but at the same time, several other players deserved the same punishment.

In addition to this, the manager has also made it clear that Manchester United will appeal against the suspension.

The manager has said: “It shouldn’t have happened. And last week, VAR doesn’t do anything about the tackle [by Carroll on Eriksen], but this was avoidable and because in this incident there have to be consequences and they are inconsistent and that is not right, that is not fair against us.

“We have to think about [appealing]. But be fair, we have seen when you’re freezing [the frame], Casemiro is crossing the line. But many more players were crossing the line there.”

Various other angles have come out after the match where Casemiro and Hughes can be seen hugging and laughing just seconds after the incident however, based on the previous track record of appeal we don’t think this red card will be cancelled because it wasn’t a clear and obvious error from the referee.

Man United will most certainly appeal to cancel the suspension but they also know very well that Casemiro will miss the two Leeds United games and the home game against Leicester City. The last time he missed a Premier League game was against Arsenal and United ended up losing that match 3-2.

The club have signed Sabitzer on loan and now, all eyes will be on the 28-year-old to see how he fills the boots of the Brazilian legend. He looked unphased during the final nine minutes vs Palace and hopefully he can help Man United keep up their good form for the next couple of games.