Juan Mata Comments on Red Card, Complains over Ref Mike Dean's Decisions

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has conceded he feels hard done by after he was sent off in Sunday’s clash with West Bromwich Albion.

The Red Devils went on to lose 1-0 as the Spaniard was booked twice in the first period for two offences, the first time in his career he’s been giving his marching orders.

And writing on his personal blog (h/t Chris Davie of Goal), while he apologised to fans and team-mates, he revealed he wasn’t pleased with the decision made by referee Mike Dean:

"

As you can imagine, it’s not easy for me to write these lines. The truth is this is a new and strange situation for me, not easy to assimilate, but we learn from everything. 

I know that, in football, we see things like these every week, but obviously what hurts more is that my team-mates had to fight with ten men for a long time. I have the feeling that both decisions were rigorous; that, in many occasions, we see more serious fouls that are not penalised in such a way, but at the same time I could have avoided them and I take responsibility. 

"

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

The fouls in questions were certainly avoidable. Mata’s first booking came after he prevented the Baggies from taking a quick free-kick, while the second was administered following a rash tackle.

The dismissal was a blow which United never quite recovered from, and Salomon Rondon gave the hosts a deserved triumph with a second-half strike.

Mata’s manager Louis van Gaal was unhappy with his player in the aftermath of the match, as the Red Devils lost some vital ground in the race for a spot in the Premier League top four.

“You know the first one is a stupid yellow card and then you have to be aware the referee can give a second yellow card,” said the Dutchman, per Stuart James of the Guardian. “A referee has to decide within one second but when you know the player, Mata never hurts a player.”

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Indeed, as noted by former England international striker Gary Lineker, the two bookings, which came within 158 seconds of one another, certainly aren’t standard practice for a player who usually has a tepid temperament:

It’s testament to the red-hot environment of the English game. Even though the two cautions seemed avoidable and from a fan’s perspective, completely needless, when a footballer is so focused and under immense pressure to perform, sensible thinking can sometimes go out of the window, even for the most level-headed of footballers.

Mata suggested he will learn from the red card.

“In this sport there’s no time for celebrations or moaning, and after last Wednesday’s joy for the win and the goal against Watford, now I have to go through a more bitter experience,” he said. “That’s the way it is. What matters is to move forward and to always learn from each situation. And so I will.”

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The dismissal was certainly a blow to United and a key factor in them dropping points here. But as noted by Nooruddean Choudry of Joe.co.uk, the Red Devils could have reacted better to the situation:

Having been named as United captain for the clash with Watford last Wednesday, Mata will be wholly disappointed by his conduct here. In what is a young Red Devils team, Van Gaal would have been looking to him to lead by example at a tough venue, yet he was unable to do so.

It’s an anomalous lapse in concentration from a player who has been performing well, though. The Spain international has grown in prominence in recent weeks for United, and while many will feel let down by his petulance here, history suggests that it’ll be a long time before we see Mata given his marching orders again.