Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney agree on 'ridiculous' Man Utd red card verdict

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Alan Shearer slammed the ‘ridiculous’ failure to send Diogo Dalot off in Saturday’s Manchester derby after a ‘dangerous’ challenge on Jeremy Doku. The Portuguese defender was booked just 11 minutes in following a late challenge on the Manchester City man.

Neither the referee nor VAR deemed the challenge to be worthy of a dismissal , with Dalot instead being booked. The Premier League then clarified that decision by suggesting that the contact was ‘glancing and not with excessive force’.

But Shearer criticised that decision and claimed that a red card should have been the only result. Asked on Match of the Day if Dalot should have been sent off, he said: “There’s no doubt about it.

“It’s as clear as a red card as you’re going to see. They came out with ‘deemed to be glancing’, that’s nonsense. That’s as straight and full on - it’s high and it’s dangerous - as you’re going to see.

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“He’s endangering the opponent. It’s a straight red card. That’s nonsense the glancing thing. I understand why the referee hasn’t given it but you’ve got two guys in VAR who don’t think that’s dangerous? That’s ridiculous.”

Former United forward Wayne Rooney also gave his verdict and agreed that Dalot should have been dismissed. He replied: “Initially I thought it wasn’t but when you watch it back, it’s as clear as a red card as you’ve ever seen. What’s worrying is VAR haven’t seen that, that’s the big worry.”

Asked if the Premier League’s explanation was satisfactory, Shearer added: “No chance. I don’t know how they’ve come up with that. It’s straight on, it’s a terrible tackle.”

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City boss Pep Guardiola also aired his complaints about the failure to dismiss Dalot but stopped short of suggesting that his presence was the reason his side lost the game. Speaking after the game, he said: "You could say that, you could say that red card, different game. Many, many situations happen.

"It is easy for me to come here and say it should be a red card. It is not about that; we will not grow up if that is the argument to win or lose a game. You have to do better, and we didn't today.

"We have to look at ourselves. There are some teams that won 10v11. Maybe we wouldn't have won."

United eventually secured a 2-0 success despite the controversy. Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu both scored in an eye-catching second-half to ensure Michael Carrick marked his return to Old Trafford in style.

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