Aston Villa plans to submit an official complaint to the Premier League concerning the choice of the “inexperienced” referee Thomas Bramall for their 2-0 defeat against Manchester United. During this match, he disallowed a goal by Morgan Rogers, claiming that Rogers had taken the ball from the hands of United’s goalkeeper, Altay Bayindir.
This loss at Old Trafford on Sunday ultimately denied Aston Villa a place in next season’s Champions League. Unai Emery’s team finished in sixth place, tied on points with fifth-placed Newcastle, who managed to secure the last Champions League spot despite losing 1-0 at home to Everton. Bramall’s decision, made while the score was still 0-0, was a crucial turning point in the game. VAR was unable to intervene because Bramall had already blown his whistle before the ball crossed the goal line after Rogers had dispossessed Bayindir.
At the post-match press conference, Villa’s director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, mentioned that the club would be filing a formal grievance with the Premier League regarding Bramall’s appointment. He pointed out that Bramall has been on the league’s officiating list for three years and recently officiated Liverpool’s title-clinching win over Tottenham at Anfield last month.
“The complaint is not about the decision,” Vidagany explained. “It pertains to the selection of referees. One of the least experienced referees was assigned to one of the most difficult matches of the season, which involved several other teams competing for the same position.
“It’s not about the decision itself. The decision is clear. It was a mistake, and the referee has admitted it. There is nothing we can do about that. The real concern is why more experienced international referees were not officiating today.”
When a call was made to the referee, he did not respond. Despite the controversy, Emery chose not to claim that the decision directly cost his team a Champions League spot. By that point, Villa had already been reduced to ten men after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was given a red card for a foul on Rasmus Hojlund.
“Today, we can discuss the season, the 90 minutes, the key moments,” Emery said. “The key moment was undoubtedly Morgan Rogers’ goal and the referee’s decision to disallow the goal.
“I had a conversation with the referee, and he acknowledges his errors. We all make mistakes daily; I certainly do as well. I have faith in VAR and believe we have excellent referees in the Premier League, but there are times when they err. “With that goal, perhaps [we] could have achieved a better outcome and a Champions League spot, but I feel we didn’t earn more than the result we have.”
