Wigan Athletic’s crushing defeat at home to EPL leaders Manchester United last Saturday left them at the bottom of the table.

But manager Roberto Martinez was left fuming at the failure of referee Mark Clattenburg to dismiss United’s Wayne Rooney for an off-the-ball incident with Latics’ midfielder James McCarthy early in the game.

The 4-0 defeat leaves Wigan two points off the security of 17^th place in the EPL, after results elsewhere went against the Lancastrians.

McCarthy received a whack on the side of his head from Rooney as the two players clashed in the centre-circle eight minutes into the match, with the score still 0-0.

Referee Clattenburg gave Wigan a free-kick, which suggested he saw the incident. And Martinez was furious that the sanction against Rooney and United wasn’t far greater.

He said: “I saw the incident clearly and the referee did as well because he gave us the free-kick. Once you give the 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 would have been lucky to stay on the pitch.”

Martinez felt that the final scoreline “was not a true reflection of the game (but) we didn’t take our chances and United punish you for that.”

Wigan visit the blue ‘half’ of Manchester this coming Saturday afternoon, when they play big-spending Manchester City.