Premier League release statement as Lisandro Martinez escapes red card for Man United vs Chelsea

The Premier League say VAR Michael Salisbury agreed with referee Rob Jones that Lisandro Martinez had committed a 'reckless challenge' on Cole Palmer late in Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and therefore was not worthy of a sending off.

Usually one of the fixtures to look out for on the top-flight calendar, United and Chelsea was largely uneventful until second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Moises Caicedo. The former had struck from the penalty spot minutes before the latter thrashed in a rebound.

And another flashpoint in the third minute of stoppage time proved to be a challenge by Martinez on the Chelsea forward Palmer. The Argentine swung a leg out seemingly attempting to cut the ball out, but his studs of his right boot instead made contact with the knee of his opponent.

On-field referee Jones opted to show the guilty player a yellow card, with VAR taking a look as well. That task fell to Salisbury, who gave the all clear to play on without any need to upgrade the punishment.

It was a controversial call amongst the Blues squad as they protested, whilst Gary Neville on commentary duty said Martinez was lucky to remain on the field. Now the Premier League have officially responded, posting the statement that explains the tackle was deemed 'reckless' but did not endanger the opponent.

It read: "The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge."

As a result Martinez was not sent off, instead picking up his fourth yellow card of the season. One more of those and he meets the criteria to be suspended for one match.