Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal labelled Juan Mata's red card in their 1-0 Premier League defeat to West Brom "stupid".
United are now three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Mata got two yellows in quick succession. Louis van Gaal believes referee Mike Dean should have taken the midfielder's previously clean record into account:
“The first yellow card was a stupid yellow card because you know in advance that it is a yellow card.”
“The second, you know you have already one yellow so you have to take that into account. You damage your team.”
“But a referee has to also know the person who makes the tackle. Juan Mata never hurts an opponent. I asked him how many red cards had he had. He said: ‘None, that is the first.”
“I assumed that already,” van Gaal told Sky Sports.
Next up for Manchester United is a clash against Premier League rivals Liverpool in the Europa League. Then they play West Ham in the FA Cup before the second leg of their tie with Liverpool.
They return to top flight action on March 20th against Manchester City.
The Dutchman fears this defeat could have a negative impact going forward. He’s described it as a “big blow” in their bid to qualify for the Champions League:
