Rooney caught James McCarthy in the face with his elbow during the opening minutes of United's victory. The home fans were incensed but referee Mark Clattenburg took no action, apart from awarding the hosts a free-kick. Having looked at the incident again, Martinez is convinced his side should have been playing against 10 men. "I saw the incident clearly and the referee did as well because he gave the free-kick," said Martinez. "Once you give a free-kick it is quite clear that it is a red card. When you look at the replay, it is quite clear he catches James McCarthy in the face with his elbow. "If one of my players had done that, I would think he was very lucky to stay on the pitch. "It is a big call in the game. It is unfortunate because the referee saw it but he didn't feel it was a red card. "It was not because he was Wayne Rooney. It was an incident in the game. That is it." Predictably, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson took an alternate view, claiming Clattenburg made the correct call. "I have had a chance to see it," said the Scot. "There is nothing in it. "But, what will happen, the question has been asked and because it is Wayne Rooney the press will raise a campaign to get him hung by Tuesday or electrocuted or something like that. "It is unbelievable. Watch the press. It will be interesting to see it." Ferguson will get the storm about Rooney. However, the chances of the 25-year-old being punished - a red card would have meant him missing Tuesday's trip to Chelsea, the Liverpool encounter at Anfield next Sunday and an FA Cup sixth-round tie against Arsenal or Leyton Orient -appear non-existent as Clattenburg would have to tell the FA he did not see what happened. And, as he sought him out at half-time, Martinez knows Clattenburg did. "I saw the referee at half-time," said the Wigan chief. "He said he felt it was not a red card and that Rooney had just clipped McCarthy." Clattenburg has a chequered past with Ferguson, who was fined after an angry exchange with the north-east official at Bolton following a clash between Patrice Evra and Kevin Davies. This time, though, it was Martinez who felt harshly dealt with considering Paul Scholes also escaped unpunished when he clattered through the back of McCarthy, whom the Wigan boss felt United had targeted. "You could see what Manchester United wanted to do," he said. They wanted to impose themselves on James McCarthy. "Unfortunately, they got away with it. "There was also a very bad challenge from Paul Scholes on McCarthy. Again it was another free-kick that was not punished with a yellow card. "If we are going to get a result against Manchester United, you need the big calls to go your way. That did not happen." Martinez is correct in feeling hard done by given how easily the visitors eventually won the game. Edwin van der Sar made two fantastic saves to deny Victor Moses and McCarthy either side of Javier Hernandez's 17th-minute opener. The Mexican profited from Rooney's excellent through-ball after half-time to double United's lead with his 13th goal of the campaign. After that it was a cruise, with Rooney presented with a tap-in by Dimitar Berbatov's unselfishness and Fabio wrapping up a win that takes United four points clear of Arsenal at the start of a crucial week in the title race. "It is a good result because this is a difficult place to come," said Ferguson, whose words ignore the fact United have won all 13 meetings with their north-west neighbours. "For the first 20 minutes, Wigan were terrific. Van der Sar made three great saves and another fantastic one in the second-half." Ferguson was hoping to have Ryan Giggs back from a hamstring injury and Michael Owen available following a groin strain this afternoon. In the end neither made it, and Giggs only has an outside chance of being involved at Stamford Bridge. "Hopefully Ryan will train on Sunday," said Ferguson. "He is coming on."
