Credit: Imago

Daniel Lewis

Tue 14 April 2026 17:10, UK

Manchester United were stunned by Leeds United at Old Trafford, where referee Paul Tierney was the focus of much attention.

The biggest talking point of the Whites’ 2-1 win on Monday night was Tierney’s decision to send off Lisandro Martinez.

Martinez pulled back on Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s hair and, after VAR intervened and asked Tierney to check the pitchside monitor, a red card was issued.

The man in the middle was criticised by many for that decision, but it was spot on as far as the rules of the game go.

But a couple of incidents that arguably went under the radar in Leeds’ win over Man United have led to calls for some action to be taken.

Matheus Cunha and Ethan Ampadu left embarassed

Man United tried every trick in the book in a desperate attempt to get themselves back in the game in front of a clearly unhappy Old Trafford.

One such trick saw Matheus Cunha chuck himself to the floor, expecting contact to arrive from Jaka Bijol.

Unfortunately for the Man United attacker, Bijol did not make any contact and Cunha was left looking stupid as he went down without being touched.

Tierney rightly booked Cunha, as he did Leeds skipper Ethan Ampadu, who himself went to ground later in the match after trying to instigate contact from, ironically, Cunha.

Keith Hackett, a former Premier League referee and one-time head of PGMOL, has been outspoken about the number of players in the modern game who try to con officials.

And speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, Hackett flagged the incidents mentioned at Old Trafford and said he hopes to see some sort of changes implemented over the summer.

“The problem is that this season to date, the amount of acts of simulation are on the increase because of the lack of consistent sanctioning by referees over several seasons,” he said.

“Let’s praise referees who do sanction this offence, like Tierney in this match, and let’s hope in the summer the PGMOL will discuss the problem with the leagues, the LMA, the PFA and all other stakeholders in the game and introduce a clamp down.”

Hackett is right in what he says, with changes clearly needed for the good of the game to completely cut out simulation.

Where do Leeds rank for yellow cards this season?

Ampadu was one of two Leeds players booked at Old Trafford, the other being James Justin for a strong challenge.

Daniel Farke‘s men now have 53 yellow cards in the Premier League this season, to go with their one red card, which is the joint-sixth lowest in the division.

Burnley also have 53 yellows, while Man United have 51, Nottingham Forest 50, Aston Villa and Liverpool 49 each, and Arsenal are some way clear at the top with just 41 cautions and zero reds.

At the opposite end of the scale, Brighton, Chelsea and Tottenham lead the way with 80 yellow cards each, while Chelsea have a staggering seven red cards.

The argument could be that Farke’s side could be a little dirtier, so long as that does not cross into cheating in order to gain an advantage.