Erik ten Hag issues scathing verdict on Marcus Rashford’s red card

Erik ten Hag has had his say after Marcus Rashford was sent off against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Manchester United started in cruise control in the Champions League after Rasmus Højlund scored twice to put Erik ten Hag‘s men two goals ahead on Wednesday evening, but a red card shown to Marcus Rashford completely turned the game around.

Rashford was sent off for an accidental stamp on the leg of Elias Jelert with just three minutes of the first half remaining, and Copenhagen went on to score two goals before the half-time whistle blew.

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The game’s dynamic was completely shifted on its axis due to the decision, which only arose due to VAR intervention, with United ultimately losing the fixture 4-3.

Speaking after the game, Ten Hag was unhappy with multiple refereeing decisions, not just limited to the red card.

“We are very disappointed and because you play very good,” Ten Hag said. “I think we started the game so well, the best 10 minutes of the season, we are winning the game and the red card changes everything.

“We concede two goals before half-time which should never count. First is offside, the second a penalty. That is in four games, four penalties against, I say three are very debatable.

“The first is an offside goal, there is a player is in front of Andre. The second is like the ball on the hand, but it’s so close and the hand is in a normal position.

“It’s like Christian Eriksen in Munich, what can you do with it? Also for Scott McTominay (against Copenhagen at Old Trafford), it’s very debatable. The game can’t be like this, it has to be a certain aspect of objective and that’s not the case.”

Ten Hag also picked out Rashford’s red card as an example of a bad decision, saying:

“It’s also harsh, he went for the ball and the referee needs such a long time. You say it very good (that the replays are out of context).

“I think when you freeze it, it always looks so worse and, as I say, it takes them so long and they make a red card of it. I’m very disappointed about such decisions. The game is never meant to be like this, this has nothing to do with football, decisions have to be made and I accept also wrong decisions are made by some at this level.

“Three such tough decisions, you control the game and the game is never meant to be for that.”

After the loss United now sit bottom of Group A, needing two wins from their two final games, against Galatasaray and Bayern Munich, in order to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.