Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha will not face an extended suspension after he returned to the pitch following his sending-off in the 3-2 Champions League win over Roma. UEFA confirmed the automatic one-match ban for two yellow cards will stand, with no further investigation into the incident.
Incident during Roma clash
Cunha, 27, received his second yellow card in stoppage time for a late tackle. His first booking came after scoring the winning goal, when he took off his shirt and dived into the crowd. Rather than heading down the tunnel, the Brazilian waited on the sidelines until the final whistle, then re-entered the field before being ushered away by Michael Carrick.
UEFA stated: "The UEFA official reports did not mention anything about this incident. Therefore the automatic one-match ban following two yellow cards should not be extended for this reason. We are not investigating further this matter."
Carrick's reaction
Carrick admitted he was 'disappointed' with the sending-off, which left United with 10 men in the closing moments. However, he praised Cunha's overall contribution, including his equalising goal and the winner after a tactical switch.
"Matheus can do them things, he's got them moments," Carrick said. "We put him inside, we swapped him with Bryan [Mbeumo] at half-time to try and get him in the middle of the pitch, try and give us a little bit of different shape, and put him in the centre of the pitch, and he found himself in good positions."
"Disappointed with how it finished, but again just shows how much he cares and willing to do, and when he's in that frame of mind, he's in that mood and he plays like that, that's what we want from him."
United's first win in 10
The victory was United's first in 10 games, giving them six points from four Champions League matches and boosting hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time since 2022. Carrick remained cautious, saying: "It's one game, so it depends on what happens next. We've got to capitalise on that."
He added: "But tonight, the boys showed an awful lot. I thought we came out in the second half and, unfortunately, with Carlos [Baleba] having to go off, Youri [Tielemans] came on the pitch and I thought he was fantastic. He showed everything that he is as a personality and as a character."
