Aston Villa are reportedly planning to file an official complaint with the Premier League after their costly defeat at Manchester United on Sunday. Referee Thomas Bramall controversially denied Villa the opening goal at Old Trafford, leading to a frosty confrontation with Unai Emery after the final whistle.
Morgan Rogers saw his celebrations cut short after he nabbed the ball from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and turned into an empty net. It would have put Villa 1-0 up with fewer than 20 minutes of regulation time to play, but they ended up losing the game and missing out on a lucrative Champions League qualification spot as Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen scored late on.
Bramall penalised Rogers for a foul on Bayindir, even though a closer inspection revealed that the United stopper did not appear to have two hands firmly planted on the ball at any point. And crucially, the referee’s whistle was blown before the ball hit the net, which denied VAR the opportunity to intervene and overturn the decision.
Emery was seething on the touchline, and he had a heated face-to-face discussion with Bramall heading down the Old Trafford tunnel.
According to The Athletic, Villa are planning to make an official complaint with the Premier League. Senior figures at the West Midlands side feel that a more experienced referee should have been appointed to officiate the game, given what was at stake.
Bramall, 35, was promoted to Select Group 1 before the 2022/23 season, allowing him to take charge of games at the highest level. This term he has alternated between Premier League and Championship games, with Sunday’s clash at Old Trafford his 11th top-flight contest of the campaign.
Villa skipper John McGinn called the decision ‘incredible’, adding in an interview with TNT Sports: “I know the rule but it’s hard on us. For him to blow his whistle at that point, it’s really, really tough to handle. It’s a really costly one. We only needed a point to reach the Champions League.”
Emery added: “We played with the [Emi Martinez] red card, this action, this goal disallowed, it was the key moment. But overall, Manchester United deserved it more. But we showed resilience with one player less. It was a good opportunity to show our resilience and keep our result, but we did not perform enough today to get that result.”
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