The incident happened in the early stages of the match, and soon divided opinion. Casemiro recklessly went into a tackle on Alcarez and it appeared he would only receive a yellow card for his actions. However, referee Anthony Taylor revised his judgement after the help of VAR, giving him a red card instead. It was an emotional moment as the 28-year-old trudged off the pitch, receiving sympathy from both his teammates and opponents alike. Relegated to watching the rest of the game from the sidelines, it served as a bitter reminder to Casemiro because this was only his second ever sending off in professional football since joining Manchester United. The midfielder will now have to sit out four games due to this ban, learning a valuable lesson in discipline along the way.
Taylor’s decision to show Casemiro a red card in the match between Real Madrid and Ajax sparked an immediate reaction from football fans around the world. One fan declared it a disgrace, tweeting that “Football is done. A non contact sport.” To be fair, the sending off was contentious with other fans considering it unnecessary;
The four-game suspension of Manchester United midfielder Casemiro will hamper the club during an important few weeks, denying them the services of one of their key players. Casemiro’s absence will be felt in the Red Devils’ upcoming FA Cup fixture against Fulham at Old Trafford next Sunday (March 19). He will also miss a trip to Newcastle United on April 2–ironically in a match Man United played earlier this season, where Casemiro scored the opening goal as they went on to beat the Magpies 2-0 and lift the Carabao Cup trophy. His absence at St James’ Park will leave his team with a lot to prove.
Casemiro’s upcoming suspension ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Brentford on April 5 is bad news for the team. The Brazilian signed days after they were humiliated in a 4-0 defeat at Gtech Community Stadium, and now his presence will be sorely needed. Even more worrying is the fact that this suspension will occur right in the midst of United’s key stage of their season. Unfortunately, the inconsistency seen with overall officiating in the Premier League baffles many observers, as two fouls similar to Casemiro’s in Saturday’s (March 11) game between Chelsea and Leicester City went unpunished despite being shown red cards in his case. United will most likely look into appealing for Casemiro, but only time can tell if it’ll happen or not.
