Aston Villa have made an official complaint to the Premier League over the choice of referee for their key clash at Manchester United after seeing a goal controversially ruled out as they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Unai Emery’s men struggled at Old Trafford and life was made harder by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s sending-off just before half-time, yet they looked to have taken the lead through Morgan Rogers in the 73rd minute.
United’s back-up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir did not have the ball in control when it was taken out of his hands by the Villa man, but referee Thomas Bramall had blown for a foul before his strike found the net.
The Premier League match centre confirmed “the incident was not reviewable by the VAR” as “the whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal” – a body blow quickly followed by Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen strikes.
Villa’s 2-0 defeat saw them finish sixth and miss out on Champions League qualification, with the club later confirming they had lodged a complaint with the Premier League.
“With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee should have been appointed. Of the 10 referees to officiate across the Premier League today, Mr Bramall was the second least experienced,” a statement said.
“The decision to disallow Morgan Rogers’ goal, which would have given the club a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the match, was a major contributing factor to the club not qualifying for the Champions League.”
The statement added: “Ultimately, we acknowledge that the outcome for us will not change, but we believe it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure that high-stakes matches are treated as such with regards to officiating and to ensure that the implemented VAR technology is allowed to be effective.”
Villa director of football Damian Vidagany said: “The complaint is not about the decision.
“The complaint is about the selection of the referee – one of the most inexperienced referees for one of the most difficult matches of the season, involving another four or five teams.
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“The decision is clear. It’s a mistake. The referee apologised for the mistake, so we can do nothing.
“The problem is why the experienced referees, international referees were not here today.”
The Professional Game Match Officials Board had no comment to make when contacted by the PA news agency.
Villa boss Emery, who walked off the field talking to referee Bramall, said: “We scored one goal and normally this goal, if the referee was under his control, to wait before whistling for this action, I think it (would have been) a goal after VAR.
“But we are making mistakes, the players are making mistakes and the referees, sometimes they are making mistakes.
“We have to accept it. We lost and we didn’t deserve more.”
Villa only needed a point to secure Champions League football next season as Newcastle lost 1-0 at home to Everton.
Captain John McGinn told TNT Sports: “It’s tough to take, especially in the circumstances.
“I don’t think any of us in the dressing room, anyone watching the game, felt like we deserved to win. Man United were the better team, they were on the front foot and missed loads of chances. But the decision is incredible.
“I think everyone, when VAR was implemented, wanted the correct decisions – if it’s offside, be offside.
“You watch rugby, if a try is given, even if the referee’s awarded it, if it’s wrong it’s overturned.
“So, I know it’s the rule, I’ve seen it a couple of times, but it is so, so hard to take, especially with the impact it has on us. As a team and as a club it’s so big.
“So for Thomas to blow his whistle at that point, it’s really, really tough to take.
“I don’t think we deserved to win the game but at that point you’re one-up with 20 (minutes) to go and all you need is a point to get in the Champions League. It’s a really costly one.”
