Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was left furious with a short whistle from officials that may have denied his club millions of dollars and a place in the UEFA Champions League during a 2-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
His club then wrote to PGMOL — Professional Game Match Officials Limited — to complain that relatively inexperienced referee Thomas Bramall was assigned to their game.
Villa were down a man when Emiliano Martinez was sent off for a DOGSO foul on Rasmus Hojlund, but still on pace for a top-five place as Newcastle United trailed Everton before eventually losing 1-0.
MORE — Manchester United 2-0 Aston Villa recap, analysis
There was no question that was a red card offense, but the controversy came in the second half when Morgan Rogers appeared to put the 10-man Villans ahead at Old Trafford.
Man United keeper Altay Bayindir bobbled a collection of the ball just inside the 18, and Rogers poked the ball away from the keeper before slotting it inside the goal.
But the referee blew the whistle before Rogers shot toward goal, and VAR was unable to review the play.
Emery was incensed, even moreso when United went ahead within a couple of minutes of the incident.
Aston Villa official statement on incident
“Aston Villa can confirm the club has written to the PGMOL to raise concerns over the selection process of match officials following today’s game with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“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 2nd least experienced.
“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.
“As per the standards that have been established over the course of the season, a decision to whistle early is clearly inconsistent with current refereeing guidelines. VAR exists to ensure that these types of situations receive the scrutiny they deserve. Unfortunately, the technology was not allowed to serve its purpose.
“Ultimately, we acknowledge that the outcome for us will not change, but we believe that 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.”
Unai Emery reaction — Aston Villa boss responds to massive controversy as Villans out of Champions League
“Good evening, okay the TV is clear with the movie but of course it was a mistake, a big mistake. The match we played over 90 minutes with the red card, with this action, this goal disallowed, it was the key moment but overall they deserved it more. We were resilient with one player less. We could’ve scored one goal and maybe it was a good opportunity to continue being resilient and keep the result. But of course we didn’t perform well enough to get the result.”
Did you speak with the ref? Did he say it was a mistake? “I talked to him. He knows.”
“I don’t want to speak now about VAR.”
Happy overall to return to Europe? “We did a big effort the second part of the season. We lost the opportunity to be in the top five during the first half of the season. We got Europe. We got Europa League and we have to be more or less happy about this achievement but we were close to the Champions League. Speaking the last matches, we talked about how important it is to be Europe. We have to be proud of what we did but of course we have to improve. We will play Europa League and keep going. The Premier League is the most difficult.”
Was it a good season? “I enjoyed the season, Champions League, FA Cup, and to be consistent in the league is our priority. It wasn’t enough to get the Champions League.”
“We weren’t playing like we planned. When we were getting better, starting to get good positioning and stopping them. After the red card, the match was completely different. We were being resilient. We needed to believe to get some chances. We had it. It was a mistake. The referee knows. He knows and of course we are making mistakes, referees can do this too. But overall, the match more or less they showed the good players they have, Manchester United, and with one player less it was more difficult. At the end we lost the opportunity to be in Champions League but to be in Europe is the priority and we will appreciate the Europa League.”
John McGinn reaction — ‘Incredible’ error to blow whistle
“I don’t think anyone in the dressing room, any of us in the dressing room thought we deserved to win. Man United were the better team but the decision was incredible. Everyone, when VAR was implemented, wanted correct decisions. I know it is the rule but it is so hard to take, especially with the impact it has on us. To whistle at that point, it is hard to take. It’s so so hard to take especially when the impact is so big on our club. It’s really tough to handle. I don’t think we deserved to win the game but at that point all we needed was a point to reach the Champions League. Now the rule has to be looked at. It’s not fair even though it’s his mistake that he can’t be told it’s a mistake. European football three years in a row. We have to hold on.
“He didn’t really know what to say because of the impact it has on us as players. We’re obviously angry. He’s a young referee who’s progressed quite quickly so maybe we can look at that but at the moment when he blows the whistle there’s not much he can do.”