Man Utd boss says Juan Mata's character should have been considered before red card

Juan Mata character should have been taken
into account by referee Mike Dean before he sent
off the midfielder, says Manchester United boss
Louis van Gaal.

United played with 10 men for more than an hour
in Sunday's 1-0 loss to West Brom at The
Hawthorns.

Mata had never previously been sent off in the
Premier League, but was booked twice in the
space of three minutes.

"The referee has to know the person who makes
the tackle and that Mata never hurts an opponent,"
said Van Gaal.

The Spain international, 27, was shown his first
yellow card for blocking Darren Fletcher's quick
free-kick, then given a second when he clipped the
heels of the former United midfielder.
Referee Dean, who has been a top-flight official
since 2000, had little hesitation in producing a
card for each offence.

"You can give the two bookings according to the
rules but I think the referee needs to know the
player who is doing that," added Van Gaal.

"The referee has to decide within one second but
you know that Mata never hurts another player.
"That's why an experienced referee is always
better because he knows the players better, he
knows the game better and so on.
"I think you take that into account."