Maguire gets extra ban and will miss Chelsea trip
Maguire denied in his written submission that he directed the words towards Donohue or any of the other match officials present. "As I left the field of play following my dismissal I said something along the lines of 'it is a ******** joke'," Maguire said. "I am certain that I did not call the fourth official or any match official, a joke or use any other form of insult.
" Maguire, however, acknowledged in his evidence that acting as he did was inappropriate and he apologised for saying what he did. The regulatory commission considered an additional two-match suspension but "taking mitigating factors into account" - including Maguire accepting the charge - felt one match was appropriate. United will also be without centre-back Lisandro Martinez at Stamford Bridge after he was dismissed for violent conduct for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair in Monday's 2-1 defeat by Leeds, which Maguire missed through suspension.
Michael Carrick said it was "one of the worst" decisions he has seen and the United boss suggested the club will appeal against the Argentine's red card. Matthijs de Ligt is also set to miss out against Chelsea as he deals with a long-term back problem. It leaves Carrick with 19-year-old Ayden Heaven and 20-year-old Leny Yoro as his only recognised central defenders.
United are third in the Premier League, level on points with fourth-placed Aston Villa and three points above Liverpool in fifth with six games left. A win for Chelsea on Saturday would close the gap between themselves and United to four points and throw the Red Devils' hopes of Champions League qualification into doubt. This is not a surprise and would have been the concern for Michael Carrick as soon as Martinez was sent off against Leeds.
With Martinez equally unlikely to get his red card against the Elland Road outfit overturned, it leaves Carrick with a major decision to make for Saturday's crucial trip to Chelsea. The obvious move would be to pair Yoro with Heaven. However, at 20 and 19 that would represent a very inexperienced pairing, even if Yoro did cost £52m and England Under-20 international Heaven is regarded as a central defender of immense promise.