If Matt Le Tissier was not of a Southampton persuasion, he might be peddling another conspiracy theory. Andre Marriner, the referee who presented Casemiro with a red card against Crystal Palace last month, was the Video Assistant Referee who advised Casemiro's tackle on Carlos Alcaraz warranted the same colour.
More relevantly, Marriner was the on-pitch official on Saturday when Ricardo Pereira embedded his studs on the shin of Joao Felix.
That was an objectively worse foul and Pereira was not even booked. Also read: United planning to let two forwards leave on loan That may have been on Marriner's mind when he analysed Casemiro's challenge on Alcaraz.
You can imagine the scene in that cabin at Stockley Park: "I cocked up again yesterday, so better get this one right." And this is the nub of it with the Premier League officials: they are on different pages.