Unai Emery says that Aston Villa must ‘accept’ the controversial ‘mistake’ to disallow Morgan Rogers’ goal against Manchester United – but the club will file an official complaint to the Premier League. Villa suffered a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford which ended their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
A draw would’ve been enough after Newcastle were beaten 1-0 at home to Everton. Villa will now play Europa League football next season but it’ll take some time for Emery to appreciate their reward after another impressive campaign.
Rogers thought that he’d put the visitors 1-0 up at Old Trafford when he robbed the ball off United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and slotted it home. But referee Thomas Bramall had already blown his whistle for a foul when the ball crossed the line, meaning that VAR couldn’t review the decision and award a goal
Replays showed that Bayindir didn’t have full control of the ball and Rogers won it fairly. Two minutes later, United took the lead through Amad, making the most of their one-man advantage after Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was shown a straight red card just before half-time.
Christian Eriksen then made it 2-0 from the penalty spot, as Villa tasted defeat in the league for only the second time since February. Post-match, Emery was asked about the incident involving Rogers and Bramall’s decision, as Villa prepare to lodge an official complaint to the Premier League saying that a ‘more experienced referee had to be selected’ to take charge of a game of such magnitude.
“The TV is clear with the move but of course, we have to accept it. It was a mistake. A big mistake,” the Spaniard fumed. “The match we played overall in 90 minutes with the red card and this goal disallowed, it was a key moment. but overall, they did more.
“But we showed resilience with one player less. We could have scored one goal and it would have been a good opportunity to continue and keep the result. We didn’t perform enough today to get a good result but we could get it, in case some decision weren’t like it was.”
On whether he’d talked to Bramall about the incident, Emery replied: “Yes, I told him but he knows it.” Asked if the referee had admitted his mistake, Emery remained coy. “The next question?” And on whether the VAR rules need to be changed, he said: “I don’t want to speak about VAR now.”
The Athletic report that Villa will complain to the Premier League that a more senior official was not assigned to the game. Bramall was promoted to the Select Group 1 in 2022 and has alternated between the top flight and the Championship this season.
Meanwhile, Villa captain John McGinn told TNT Sports: “I think everyone wanted the correct decisions when the VAR was implemented. You watch rugby, even if the referee has awarded a try and it’s wrong, its overturned.
“It’s so so hard to take especially when the impact it has on us, as a club and a team, is so big. It’s really, really tough to take and handle. I don’t think we deserved to win but if you were 1-0 up at that point and all you need is a point to get to the Champions League, it’s costly.
“Moving forward, the rule has to be looked at as the correct decisions were not getting made at the end of the day. I think Thomas knew. It probably wasn’t fair on him at that moment either. The boys are gutted. But European football three years in a row, we need to hold onto that and see what next season brings.”
“He didn’t really know what to say. Because of the impact it has on us as players and our careers, the club, you are obviously angry. I think he is a young referee who has progressed very quickly. Maybe we could look at having more experienced referees. I don’t know. It’s just an incredible decision and makes today even worse than it should be.”
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