Several Premier League managers have been left angry by red cards issued for hair pulling this season. David Moyes, manager of Everton, said VAR Chris Kavanagh should have been “embarrassed” for advising a red card review after Michael Keane pulled the hair of Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare. Manchester United manager Michael Carrick described Lisandro Martinez’s dismissal against Leeds United as a “shocking decision”.
In January, Everton boss David Moyes said it was “ridiculous” that Michael Keane was sent off against Wolves.
Zero Tolerance After VAR Error
If there has been definitive evidence of a hair pull, it has led to a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention for violent conduct and a three-match ban. But this one-size-fits-all approach is controversial.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer summed up the general opinion of former players on BBC Breakfast. “Never a red card, not in the Premier League,” former England striker Shearer said of Martinez’s dismissal. “We need to be careful about where the game is heading if that is being deemed violent conduct and a red card. It’s not what we want to see.”
Cast your mind back to August 2022. Tottenham defender Cristian Romero tugged back Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella by his hair. The VAR, Mike Dean, opted not to intervene for an obvious red card. It created a line in the sand. From that point on, a zero tolerance approach was adopted.
Consistency vs. Common Sense
A strict application means we have to accept that there are cases, like Keane and Martinez, where the punishment appears too severe. It is a bit like handball in the Champions League. People do not like some of the penalties, but they know what they are getting.
If you want consistency then you cannot have common sense too.
After the Keane red card, referees’ boss Howard Webb was very clear that hair pulling was “quite an offensive thing”. “It was the appropriate outcome,” Webb said. “It was unusual but if we see it again next week it will be the same outcome.”
Other Hair Pulling Incidents
It took a few months before we did see it in similar circumstances with Martinez, and Webb was proved to be correct.
There has only been one other VAR red card in the Premier League, for Southampton’s Jack Stephens on Cucurella.
There have been several other instances in the Club World Cup, Women’s Super League and Women’s Euros.
Even in the EFL, which does not have VAR, Ipswich’s Leif Davis was recently banned after being picked up on camera pulling the hair of Leicester’s Caleb Okoli.
It has been consistent in the Premier League at least.