Twitter Reacts to Branislav Ivanovic's Red Card vs. Manchester United

Referee Phil Dowd made a controversial decision on Sunday when he dismissed Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic for a second bookable offence late in their match against Manchester United, leading to the hosts' late equaliser by Robin van Persie. 

BBC Sports' Phil McNulty summarised the events that took place in the final two minutes at Old Trafford:

The Serbia international put his hands on a streaking Angel Di Maria and appeared to clip his ankle as well, an unnecessary foul as the Argentine was not in an area of danger.

Sky Sports' Daniel Storey had trouble believing it:

The ensuing free kick came to Marouane Fellaini, whose effort was parried by compatriot Thibaut Courtois. The ball fell to Van Persie, however, and he slotted home.

Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit didn't agree with Dowd's decision at all:

The Sunday Times' Duncan Castles took it one step further, comparing several statistics to make the argument United got a little too much help to complete the comeback:

According to fantasyfootballscout, the full-back's absence will only be felt in the Capital One Cup, not any Premier League fixtures:

The Independent's Joe Krishnan can even see the silver lining:

As one might expect, manager Jose Mourinho didn't agree with Dowd's decision, either, although he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself, via Castles:

Storey expects the Chelsea boss will have been frustrated with the official's performance well before he decided to hand Ivanovic his second yellow:

As shared by Paddy Power, the red card took the shine of an excellent performance of the defender:

The Blues missed out on the opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the standings but can still look back on a productive matchday, with Manchester City losing and Liverpool dropping points as well.

Mourinho appeared to have his player's back during his post-match presser, and given Ivanovic's sensational form in the 2014-15 campaign, his spot in the squad is safe. A cup match against Shrewsbury would likely have seen some backups take to the pitch anyhow, so Mourinho's plans won't be altered in any way by Ivanovic's ban.

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