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Aston Villa are reportedly planning to make an official complaint to the Premier League in the aftermath of their 2- loss to Manchester United in the last match of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign. The defeat saw the Villans finish in the sixth position of the EPL table, which means they will miss out on Champions League football next season.
Ahead of the match, Aston locked in a race for the UCL spots, and they needed to get all three points against United to stand a chance of making it to Europe’s premier football club competition.
After a goalless first half, Morgan Rogers thought he had given a 10-man Aston Villa the lead in the 72nd minute, but his goal was controversially ruled out. Referee Thomas Bramall blew for a foul, insisting that Rogers fouled Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir before he slotted the ball home.
Bramall’s decision would prove costly for Aston Villa as Manchester United went on to score two late goals. A point would have been enough to secure a top five finish spot for the Birmingham-based club after Newcastle United lost their match to Everton. In the end, they missed out on UCL football on goal difference. Villa were infuriated with the on-field decision that ruled out their goal as manager Unai Emery was seen following the referee down the tunnel after the final whistle was blown.
According to Sky Sports, Aston Villa intends to make an official complaint to the Premier League about a more experienced referee's selection to officiate a game of such magnitude.
In the post-match press conference, Villa director of football Damian Vidagany said the club will “send a complaint” and added that they were unhappy about the choice of referee. He said (via BBC):
"We are going to send a complaint. The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the selection of the referee - one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League.
"It's not about the decision, clearly it was a mistake. The complaint is about the referee. The problem is why the international referees were not here today."
Aston Villa will play in the Europa League next season, while Manchester finished in the 15th position on the league table.
Unai Emery labels referee decision to rule out his player’s goal against Manchester United ‘a mistake’
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery echoed Damian Vidagany’s sentiments on the decision to rule out Rodgers’ goal against Manchester United for a foul.
He said after the match (via Mirror):
“The key moment was of course the goal and how the referee decided the action. He knows he made a mistake. With this goal, maybe we could get a better result and a Champions League place, but we didn’t deserve more than the result we got.”
Villa captain John McGinn also admitted that the decision proved costly for them.
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Ezekiel Olamide
Ezekiel is a European football journalist who covers breaking news and transfer rumors at Sportskeeda. He is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Accounting and has a work experience of around 3 years, having previously worked at the likes of Opera News Hub and Extratime Talk. He is a proponent of factual accuracy, meticulous research, verification of sources and journalistic ethics and standards.
An ardent Chelsea fan, Ezekiel's journey as a football fan began in his childhood, witnessing Ronaldinho dazzle with his skills. His interest in the beautiful game deepened after Nigeria were knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup; he was impressed with the Super Eagles' fighting spirit in their 2-2 Group B draw against South Korea. Some other World Cup matches which have left a deep impact on him were Belgium's incredible comeback against Japan in the round of 16 of the 2018 version and the 2022 final.
Lionel Messi is the one true GOAT for Ezekiel and he also follows the Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League owing to him and Cristiano Ronaldo. When not writing, he spends his free time deepening his SEO knowledge and watching skits.
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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer