Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic used the absence of VAR to land a sly dig on Vladimir Coufal.
Red Devils midfielder Matic attempted to take the ball from Coufal, and he was unsuccessful.
Matic was immediately thrown to the ground by West Ham’s player. The incident was missed by Jonathan Moss, the referee.
Moss couldn’t review the incident because there was no VAR in Carabao Cup.
But, the tactful gesture was noticed by twitter-savvy fans, who swiftly condemned the actions.
(Image: Sky Sports)
“Gotta say that’s a red for Matic. Completely unnecessary and intentional,” one fan tweeted after seeing the incident.
Another added: “The worst part about this – and there are many – is it’s next to where the fourth official should be stood. How on earth is this not spotted?”
“Matic knees him in nuts on purpose and commentary don’t even care wtf @SkySports YOU ARE A JOKE,” a third responded.
While a fourth fumed: “He should get suspended for this.”
However, others saw the lighter side of the challenge: “Man just kneed his nuts,” one fan added with a laughing emoji.
Is Matic worthy of a red card? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: Sky Sports)
In the first half, it had been the Manchester United faithful calling out for the inclusion of VAR.
Mark Nobel had made an appearance to grab Jesse Lingard. Lingard was looking down at goal from the edge of the area. Moss then waved play on.
This was United’s latest frustration after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had lost the game early.
United fans booed Alex Telles, who was left for dead after Ryan Fredericks put it on a plate to Manuel Lanzini.
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Andriy Yanmolenko missed a golden opportunity to end the tie in the 85th minutes when he made the post.
United was able to defeat West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, even though they had lost the match.
United took Lingard 40 attempts to score the goal in stoppage time and David De Gea 40 to save his penalty to win all three points.
The cup was not won.