In the fierce clash between Manchester United and Chelsea, the ferocious style of play of center-half Ricindo Martinez was noteworthy, as he made very few tackles. At dawn on Monday (4), he caused another controversy against Chelsea when he stepped on Galpin's knee late in the game, but the referee only showed a yellow card. After the match, Chelsea's team leader expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the penalty, believing that Martinez's foul should have been penalized with a red card. While Manchester United stars Kenneth Kennedy and Gary Nievely sided with Martinez, believing that it was pure luck that he escaped the red card.
In extra time, Martinez's flying tackle nearly resulted in injuries to Galpenma's left foot and knee, and the referee continued to show only a yellow card. Although VAR intervened to review the red card foul, the decision was ultimately upheld. After the match, Maliska expressed his dissatisfaction with the result: "In my opinion, Martinez did not intend to grab the ball, and the foul action was so dangerous that it clearly deserved a red card."
Manchester United star Garry Boy agreed: "If you kick the ball too high, then be prepared to receive a red card, such a way of kicking the ball is definitely a red card action." Kennedy thinks: "Martinez may be unhappy with the behavior of Golpenma, this blocking action is very bad, even if the kick is not good, if the red card penalty should be protested." Martinez, nicknamed "The Butcher", also jumped up and kicked an opponent in the September match against Crystal Palace, which also sparked widespread controversy when he managed to escape a red card.
