Tammy Abraham was denied a dream return for Aston Villa after seeing his goal ruled out by VAR.
The striker found the back of the net on his first appearance since signing from Besiktas this week.
Aston Villa’s English striker #18 Tammy Abraham shoots to score their first goal but it is later disallowed for the ball being out of play earlier in the build-up during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Brentford at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on February 1, 2026.
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Abraham saw his first goal since returning to Villa controversially ruled out by VARCredit: AFP
VAR image of Aston Villa vs Brentford
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The ball appeared to go out in the build-up to Abraham's goalCredit: Premier League
However, his joy would be short-lived after the officials controversially disallowed the goal.
Abraham had reacted quickest to convert from close range after Jadon Sancho's strike was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Replays of the goal showed that the ball had appeared to go out of play earlier in the move.
Following a VAR review, it was deemed that Leon Bailey had been unable to keep the ball in play.
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It was unclear whether an angle clearly showing whether the whole of the ball had fully crossed the line was available, though.
Reacting on GameDay Live, talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor exclaimed: "Villa Park are not happy.
"When you see the replay it does look like the whole ball is out, but come on… this isn't football."
Co-host Scott Minto was in agreement with the former Villa forward, adding: "I don't think you can 100 per cent say the whole of the ball is over the whole of the line."
Meanwhile, Sam Matterface said: "I don't know how they've made that decision, how can they tell?"
In an explanation of why it was ruled out, the Premier League match centre said on X: "After VAR review, the referee overturned the on-field decision of goal to Aston Villa – with the ball deemed to be out of play within the attacking possession phase (APP).
The big screen displays the rusult of a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) review for a ball being out of play after Villa score during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Brentford at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on February 1, 2026.
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The Premier League Match Centre provided an explanation for the VAR decisionCredit: AFP
"Referee announcement: “After review, the ball is factually out of play, so the restart will be a throw-in to Brentford.”
talkSPORT has also contacted the PGMOL over the incident.
Villa had been trailing at the time of the disallowed goal after Dango Ouattara opened the scoring in first half stoppage time.
Brentford took the lead despite being reduced to 10 men following a red card for Kevin Schade.
As for Abraham, the England international came straight into the starting line-up to replace the injured Ollie Watkins.
His Villa return followed an £18million arrival from Besiktas, who had made his loan move permanent prior to finalising his exit.
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Tammy Abraham of Aston Villa celebrates after scoring a goal, which is later disallowed following an offside decision via a VAR Review, during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Brentford at Villa Park on February 01, 2026 in Birmingham, England.
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Abraham re-joined Villa in midweek following an £18million move from BesiktasCredit: Getty
The 28-year-old previously spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Villa from Chelsea as he helped the club win promotion to the Premier League.
Abraham scored 26 goals in 40 appearances for the club during his first spell at Villa Park.