Hair Pulling Ruled Out of Bounds by FA Panel in 2026

FA panel upholds three-game ban for Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez for violent conduct, deeming hair pulling unacceptable in football.

Three-Game Ban Upheld for Lisandro Martinez A Football Association disciplinary panel has supported a three-game ban for Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez, concluding that hair pulling should not be tolerated in football. The independent regulatory commission rejected the club's appeal against the punishment, stating that Martinez's actions were deemed violent conduct. Martinez was given a straight red card for pulling the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin during a game. The incident occurred during Manchester United's 2-1 defeat by Leeds at Old Trafford, with referee Paul Tierney instructed to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee (VAR). ## Panel Stresses Consistent Punishment for Hair Pulling The panel emphasized that hair pulling should be discouraged through consistent punishment, stating that it 'ought not to be tolerated in the wider interests of football.' They also acknowledged that other forms of violent conduct carry a higher risk of harm to an opponent. However, they maintained that hair pulling is unacceptable and should be addressed accordingly. Martinez will miss the away win against Chelsea last weekend and will also sit out of the home games with Brentford on 27 April and Liverpool on 3 May. ## Carrick Criticizes Referee's Decision United manager Michael Carrick earlier this month described the decision as 'one of the worst' he has seen. He argued that Martinez's sending off was a clear and obvious error by Tierney, stating that Martinez was 'off balance and grappling' at the time of the incident. Carrick also claimed that Martinez's action was 'not a pull, not a tug, not aggressive.' However, the panel disagrees, stating that they could not say with confidence that the contact by Martinez was small. ## Calvert-Lewin Confirms Feeling Hair Get Pulled Calvert-Lewin confirmed after the game that he did feel his hair get pulled, and he told the referee about it. The commission members were unanimous in their assessment that the referee could not be said to have made an 'obvious error' in dismissing Martinez. They also pointed out that cases need to be 'truly exceptional' for a punishment to be deemed excessive, and did not agree that this was the case. ## Previous Cases of Hair Pulling In January, Everton were unsuccessful in their bid to overturn Michael Keane's dismissal for tugging the hair of Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare. Toffees boss David Moyes expressed his disappointment with the appeal panel and the video assistant referee Chris Kavanagh, stating that he was 'angry' with the decision and 'embarrassed' for Kavanagh.