Supporters call for Fellaini to be banned for hair tug

If he can't have long hair nobody can. That appeared to the message from Marouane Fellaini on Wednesday evening as he tugged at Matteo Guendouzi's long locks.

Freshly shorn of his own mane, the Belgian international attempted to strip the 19-year-old Frenchman of his by pulling the youngster back by his hair during Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

It was clear from Guendouzi's reaction that he did not take kindly to the underhand tactics of his opponent, and neither have many supporters, with a number calling for retrospective action against Fellaini.

The United man was not even booked for the tangle but many believe he should have been sent off, and have sited previous occasions where players have been hit with bans for hair-pulling.

Twitter user @NikonPhil was part of a growing consensus after the match, tweeting: 'Fellaini should be banned, no excuses for the way he plays.'

There was agreement from @CMorgs1975, who added: 'He's a compete low life. This should be reviewed and Fellaini charged.'

One user, @GRMDAILY, even likened the act as being similar to that of a punch or a bite.

Simon Stone pointed out on Twitter that their is precedent for banning players who have done similar.

In an incident in 2016, ironically involving Fellaini, then Leicester City defender Robert Huth was handed a three-match ban for tugging at the United star's hair during a match at Old Trafford.

That incident was not spotted by the referee that day, meaning retrospective action could be taken.

However, with Andre Marriner having spotted the incident and giving a foul, it is unlikely that any action could be taken this time around.

One fix for this would be the use of VAR, which could have pulled up Marriner on missing a potential red card offence.

However, that kind of justice won't appear in the Premier League until next season, with clubs agreeing in principle to adopt it from the 2019-20 season onwards.