A former Premier League referee has hit out at Thomas Bramall’s “huge error” in Aston Villa’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Aston Villa have missed out on the Champions League, finishing sixth in the Premier League after ther 2-0 defeat to Man Utd on the final day.
Unai Emery‘s side would have moved ahead of Newcastle United to seal fifth place with a draw at Old Trafford, but they did not turn up and were deservedly beaten.
Villa played the entire second half with ten men after Emiliano Martinez was sent off, but they felt they should have taken the lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Bramall ruled out the goal as he thought Morgan Rogers fouled Altay Bayindir, who he thought had two hands on the ball when he was contacted, though this was not the case.
Usually, VAR could intervene to overrule this decision, but they could not here because the referee blew his whistle to halt play before the ball found the net.
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Following this incident, the Premier League match centre released a statement to explain why the goal could not be awarded.
‘The referee’s call was a free kick to Manchester United with Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Rogers gained possession,’ a statement from the Premier League match centre on X read.
‘The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore, the incident was not reviewable by the VAR.’
Man Utd added to Villa’s frustrations as they went straight up the other end to break the deadlock through Amad Diallo before Christian Eriksen’s late penalty made it 2-0.
The Athletic‘s David Ornstein has revealed that the Villans ‘plan to make an official complaint’ to the Premier League regarding this incident, as they ‘feel a more experienced referee should have been selected to officiate a game of such magnitude.
Former Premier League referee and ex-head of the PGMOL Keith Hackett claims Bramall had a “howler” with his “huge error”.
“The goalkeeper does not have control of the ball it is loose and the actions of the forward are not dangerous,” Hackett told Football Insider.
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“The referee at that point committed an howler by blowing to stop play.
“He should have waited the outcome and after the goal was scored the situation could them be reviewed by the VAR.
“Looking at the clip, the goal should have been allowed to stand. A huge error by the referee.”
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn thinks it was an “incredible decision” and he revealed Bramall’s immediate reaction to the incident.
“Tough game especially in the circumstances. I don’t think anyone in the dressing room or anyone watching the game felt we deserved to win. Manchester United deserved to win. They were the better team and were on front foot. But the decision is incredible,” McGinn said.
“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. Its’ 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 [referee] Thomas [Bramall] 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.”
When asked whether the referee acknowledged the mistake, he continued: “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.”