‘Waste of time’: Southampton manager reacts to Casemiro red card

The Brazilian midfielder was sent off during the first half of Manchester United’s 0-0 draw with Southampton

Southampton manager Ruben Selles believes it is a “waste of time” talking about referees after his Manchester United counterpart Erik ten Hag criticised the decision to send off Casemiro during Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.

The Brazilian midfielder was initially shown a yellow card by Anthony Taylor after making a sliding challenge on Carlos Alcaraz, before upgrading his sanction after a VAR check.

Describing his player’s challenge as “fair”, Ten Hag railed against the “inconsistency” of officiating in the Premier League after a frustrating afternoon for Manchester United.

Selles feels, though, that decisions eventually balance themselves out, and the Dutchman’s criticism was unneccessary.

“I got a look at it but I don’t want to speak about the referee’s performance,” Selles told HampshireLive. “I think it’s a waste of time.

“The referee makes a decision, sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn’t, that’s it.”

Southampton’s battling point came as a boost to their survival hopes, though they remain bottom of the Premier League table.

Alongside Casemiro’s dismissal, Ten Hag was also unhappy that VAR did not intervene after Armel Bella-Kotchap appeared to handle in the Southampton box.

For the Manchester United manager, the decisions spoke to wider problems in the English top division.

“What I think is the inconsistency, players don’t know anymore what is the policy,” Ten Hag explained. “We see it [in the] Premier League yesterday: Leicester-Chelsea, the VAR is not coming on the line.

“Especially [the Bella-Kotchap incident], it was clear and obvious handball, so what is the policy?”

Manchester United remain third and have a game in hand on Tottenham, who are two points behind Ten Hag’s side in fourth.