Two weeks. Two apparent hair pulls. Two entirely different outcomes. The FA's own written ruling on Lisandro Martínez stated that "hair pulling ought not to be tolerated and should be discouraged through consistent punishment." Then Dominic Calvert-Lewin walked free at Wembley for doing exactly what got Martínez a red card and a three-match ban.
In Sunday's FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea, Calvert-Lewin appeared to pull Marc Cucurella's hair midway through the first half. Cucurella grabbed the back of his head immediately. The hair flicked upward as Calvert-Lewin's hand moved away. VAR reviewed it. No card given — the contact was from "the flat of the hand," according to TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher, who had access to the live VAR conversation.
What the Martínez ruling actually said
The irony is suffocating. Only two days before the semifinal, the FA regulatory commission published its written reasons for rejecting Martínez's appeal. The panel concluded that the force Martínez exerted on Calvert-Lewin's hair was not "negligible," partly because of how Calvert-Lewin reacted. That reaction — grabbing his head, looking pained — was cited as evidence the pull was real and forceful enough to warrant dismissal.
Cucurella did the same thing on Sunday. Grabbed the back of his head. Reacted immediately.
The distinction drawn in the Calvert-Lewin case — flat of the hand, not a grip — is a fine line that will strike most observers as a convenient one. Martínez's pull was described at the time by interim United manager Michael Carrick as "one of the worst decisions" he'd ever seen. United's appeal was rejected anyway.
A pattern the FA can't ignore
This isn't an isolated inconsistency. Fulham's Kenny Tete pulled Antoine Semenyo's hair in a Premier League match in February without even attracting a VAR check, let alone a red card. Three incidents, three different treatments, zero coherent framework.
For anyone pricing Leeds's FA Cup final chances or assessing squad depth for the run-in, Calvert-Lewin staying on the pitch matters — but the bigger story here is what English officiating looks like to the outside world. The FA published a ruling that set a clear standard, then failed to apply it in the very next high-profile case involving the same player.
The written verdict on Martínez will age particularly badly: "In the wider interests of football, hair pulling ought not to be tolerated." Apparently that principle has exceptions. Nobody seems to know what they are.
