Former Premier League referee Graham Poll believes that Casemiro is not targeted by referees, contrary to Erik ten Hag’s weekend suggestion.
The Brazilian midfielder saw red on Sunday when he went in studs-up on Carlos Alcaraz of Southampton at Old Trafford, and after a VAR review he was given his marching orders by Anthony Taylor.
United held on for a 0-0 draw as 10 men, and after the match, Ten Hag complained his side had not been awarded a penalty, and implied that the former Real Madrid man was being unfairly persecuted.
Casemiro had also received a red card earlier in the season, when he put his hands around Will Hughes’ neck during a flashpoint against Crystal Palace.
Writing for Betting Sites , Poll disagreed with Ten Hag’s comments.
He said: “When I was refereeing I can, with clear conscience, say that I NEVER ‘targeted’ a player. When impartiality is your watchword how could you? Of course there are players who are more physical and therefore more likely to be disciplined by the referee and Casemiro clearly fits into that category.
“Casemiro, having attracted so many disciplinary cards recently clearly hasn’t learned to adapt his approach and his manager will, I hope, advise him to do so.”
However, Poll did admit that handballs - such as one claimed against Armel Bella-Kotchap by United, that was denied - are no longer clearly understood.
Poll added: “What is clear is that managers and players do not agree or indeed understand VAR decisions and it really isn’t clear that the VAR officials do either. Howard Webb is vastly experienced in this field having overseen it in the US for a number of years. In the case of handball, as one of the most experienced PL referees I have no idea what is now seen as handball and what isn’t.
“There have already been apologies issued for VAR errors, Mike Dean and Lee Mason were the VAR officials involved with Mason leaving the PGMO after his blunder. But those apologies don’t help the teams nor instil confidence in the system. After this weekend it is abundantly clear to me that Webb still has a lot of work to do to get VAR in this country to an acceptable level and that is very disappointing.”