The Premier League released a statement on Sunday in which it insisted that referee Robert Jones was right to not send off Lisandro Martinez after the Manchester United defender put in a bad tackle on Cole Palmer.

United captain Bruno Fernandes gave his side the lead with a penalty with 20 minutes to go.

But Moises Caicedo equalised just five minutes later to ensure the points were shared at Old Trafford.

One of the game’s flashpoints came in the third minute of injury time when Martinez lunged in on Palmer.

Martinez raised his foot to catch Palmer studs-up on the knee, with the ball having flown into the air without the United defender touching it.

Referee Jones only saw fit to show him a yellow card.

VAR Michael Salisbury also reviewed the incident but did not see a reason to upgrade the booking to a red card.

A Premier League statement 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.”

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