Erik ten Hag speaks on Casemiro’s red card, slams VAR

Despite admitting that Casemiro “crossed a line” against Crystal Palace to get himself sent off, Erik ten Hag has voiced his disappointment on the lack of consistency in VAR.

Manchester United, on Saturday afternoon, saw out a tense Premier League victory against Crystal Palace, with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes scoring for Erik ten Hag.

However, sour note of the game was the red card for Casemiro, who was sent off for grabbing the throat of Palace midfielder Will Hughes during a brawl caused by a foul on United winger Antony.

Despite the referee not initially giving anything, he was called over to the VAR monitor for another look at the situation and issued Casemiro a straight red card.

Speaking after the fixture, Erik ten Hag told MUTV: “Casemiro crossed the line, you saw that. However, I’m unhappy with the inconsistent refereeing, not only this game but also in Palace. They elbowed Martinez. And then last week with Eriksen.

“Our players have to behave and control their emotions but I’m happy that we have the spirit and that we stand for each other.”

Speaking further on the incident, Ten Hag has slammed the decision of VAR to only pick out one single moment within the larger brawl containing at least 10 players, calling the VAR decisions “disappointing”.

“I’ve seen the incident, after the player of Crystal Palace takes a big risk to bring an injury to Antony,” he told MUTV. “Then emotions get high with several players but they (only) pick one player out.

“I’ve seen so many occasions this season where they (VAR) don’t interfere, so that is a little bit disappointing.”

He continued: “It’s about the inconsistency. Not just in this game, but away vs Crystal Palace they hit the light out of Martínez’ eyes, VAR does nothing and today they do. It all started with an aggressive challenge on Antony after which they also did nothing,” Ten Hag told ViaPlay.

Luke Shaw played a brilliant match once again at Old Trafford, collecting a lovely assist for Rashford’s goal, which was the result of an impressive Manchester United team goal to dissect Crystal Palace’s low block.

Shaw has explained how the squad feels about Casemiro’s suspension, explaining that they feel extremely disappointed.

“We’re extremely disappointed to lose him but now it’s a big opportunity for someone else to come in and make their mark on this team, show their qualities and why they’re here,” he told MUTV.

Casemiro will miss three fixtures since the red card was attributed to “violent conduct,” meaning the Brazilian will miss two fixtures against Leeds United and one against Leicester City.

Manchester United do have the option to appeal the decision, and it is expected that the club will exercise this right.