Ex-Premier League referee claims Lisandro Martinez could've 'ended Cole Palmer's career'

Former referee Keith Hackett claims that could've ended career in a tackle which should be 'outlawed'.

to rake down Palmer's leg in the final few minutes of on Sunday. star Palmer had produced a fine piece of skill to flick the ball away from Martinez, who responded by lashing out.

The playmaker went down in pain and Martinez was immediately shown a yellow card by referee Rob Jones. Replays showed how the centre-back's boot landed on Palmer's knee before catching the lower half of his leg but Jones' colleague, Michael Salisbury, didn't recommend a check.

Ex-ref Hackett disagreed with the decision and wrote in his column for : "The landing area of the boot was on Palmer's knee and quite clearly it endangered the player's safety. Referee Rob Jones was in a good position to view the incident and decided yellow. He probably concluded that there was insufficient force behind Martinez's challenger to warrant a stronger sanction.

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"That for me was a clear and obvious error and VAR should have asked the referee to go and review the incident on the pitch-side monitor. We have seen a lot of yellow cards this season but the laws, which were penned to protect players by issuing red cards, should be enforced when appropriate."

Hackett went on to argue that Jones was let down VAR. "It was the type of tackle that can end a player's career. The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd should be more rigorous in enforcing this policy," he declared.

"Jones has had his career enhanced this season by taking charge of some big matches and this game at Old Trafford was probably his biggest yet, but he has been let down on this occasion by VAR."

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The Premier League issued a statement on the incident shortly after the final whistle which read: "The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge."

Chelsea boss was furious post-match, saying: "They showed me (a replay) before the press conference, I think it is quite clear for all of us. The referee is there to make a decision, he took a different decision. For me, when there is no intention to go for the ball and just the player, is a red."

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