Manchester United have been on a dream run post-World Cup having won 11 of the 13 games played since and have reached the Carabao Cup final and are currently sitting in 3rd place on the Premier League table only 3 points behind second-placed Manchester City and league leader Arsenal. But the area of concern for Erik ten Hag has been his squad depth with a lot of injuries and suspensions in midfield.
United faced a huge conundrum regarding their Brazillian midfielder Casemiro’s ban as he was shown a red card for ‘strangling’ Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes in the last game and has been suspended for three matches. United was left with a decision to make regarding the appeal of the ban as the camera footage after the game ended showed that the Brazillian might not have actually strangled the player but was only holding him off.
United had to make a deadline day loan signing of Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich as the Red Devils had a truckload of injuries to their midfielders like Christian Eriksen who has been ruled out until April and also Donny Van de Beek who has been ruled out for the whole season.
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United didn’t appeal against Casemiro’s red card, so he will serve a three-match ban.
— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) February 7, 2023
ten Hag has had to deal with Casemiro’s disciplinary issues as the midfielder earlier faced a 1-match ban against league leader Arsenal, a game which United lost and the fans believed that the result could have been different had Casemiro played in the game. Fans have now been disappointed with United’s decision of not to appeal the midfielder’s ban.
A fan wrote: “Every lawyer in Manchester was busy, presumably.” They could be seen as very disappointed by the decision of United management and implied that the only explanation for United not choosing to appeal the ban could be the lack of lawyers in Manchester.
What did Erik ten Hag say about United’s decision to not appeal Casemiro’s ban?
Manchester United’s manager has been very clear and honest with his dealings in the press previously talking about the issues his team faces. The former Ajax manager was asked about why the Red Devils chose not to appeal the ban during his pre-match conference before the Leeds United game.
Erik ten Hag reiterated the fact that he thought that Casemiro’s booking was not the right decision as other players had also crossed the line. But he also stated that he didn’t think they had a chance to overturn the decision. He also stated that he wanted to focus on his team and not waste time with such issues.
Erik ten Hag on why there won’t be an appeal regarding Casemiro’s ban: “I think it wont help. I don’t want to lose too much on such issues. I have to focus on the performance of my team.” #mufc
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) February 7, 2023
He said: “For me, it is not the right decision, but I don’t think we have a chance in a legal sense. I think it wont help. I don’t want to lose too much on such issues. I have to focus on the performance of my team.”
Manchester United could have appealed the decision of Casemiro’s booking but they could have risked losing him for their Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United had their appeal been overturned. It seems that Erik ten Hag didn’t want to take such a risk but it would be interesting to see who he lines up in the holding midfielder role, will it be Fred or will he try Victor Lindelof in the role?
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