Manchester United midfielder Casemiro received his second career straight red card following a nasty challenge on Carlos Alcaraz in United’s goalless draw against Southampton on Sunday.
It was his second straight red card in a space of three league games, having received his first one against Crystal Palace on February 4th when he was dismissed for grabbing Will Hughes by the throat.
Like in the first incident, the VAR yesterday had to be called upon to review the situation before referee Antony Taylor reversing the yellow card he had originally awarded. He upgraded it to a straight red card.
The midfield gem will now serve a four match ban across domestic competitions starting with the FA cup on Sunday against Fulham in an all Premier League affair. He will also not feature against Newcastle at St.James’ Park, Brentford and Everton in the league. The latter two games will be played at Old Trafford.
He will however, be available for European competitions. Man United are still in the Europa League so he will make the trip to Seville for their second leg of the Europa league round of 16 against Real Betis on Thursday.
The void left by Casemiro will definitely have a huge impact to United, their midfield in particular as they already miss the services of injured Christian Eriksen, Donny Van de Beek and Marcel Sabitzer.
United are placed third in the league currently, but only four points ahead of Newcastle seated fifth. They can’t afford to drop any more points in the league as they seek to play in the Champions League.
They face uphill tasks in Newcastle and Everton. With the Brazilian absent, this could turn out to be the decisive moment in their quest for Champions League football.
His return for domestic competitions will be on April 15 when Erik Ten Hag’s men travel to Nottingham Forest.
The five-time Champions League winner has played an integral part in United’s Campaign since his switch from Real Madrid in the summer and his absence will be greatly felt.
