Aston Villa confirmed they have made a complaint to the referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after accusing referee Thomas Bramall of making a “mistake” that potentially cost the team a place in the Champions League.
Villa’s failure to avoid beat Manchester United on Sunday ultimately meant the club missed out on playing in next season’s Champions League, with Unai Emery’s team finishing in sixth position — behind fifth-placed Newcastle United on goal difference. Eddie Howe’s team claimed the final Champions League spot despite a 1-0 home defeat against Everton.
Bramall’s decision to disallow Rogers’ goal — he deemed that United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir had possession of the ball in his hands before the midfielder kicked it away, with the scoreline still at 0-0 — proved to be a huge moment. VAR was unable to intervene because Bramall had blown his whistle before the ball had crossed the goal line after Rogers had dispossessed Bayindir.
In a statement, Villa said they had written to the PGMOL over the choice of referee for the pivotal match, saying his error was a “major contributing factor to the club not qualifying for the Champions League.”
“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,” the club wrote.
“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 second least experienced.
“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,” the club said. “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.”
Speaking alongside manager Emery at the post-match news conference earlier, Villa director of football operations Damian Vidagany said the club would be lodging a complaint about the selection of Bramall, who has spent three years on the league’s list and took charge of Liverpool’s title-winning victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield last month.
“The complaint is not about the decision,” Vidagany said. “The complaint is about the selection of the referees. One of the most inexperienced referees for one of the most difficult matches of the season involving another four or five teams.
“It’s not about the decision. The decision is clear. It’s a mistake. The referee apologised for the mistake. We can do nothing. The problem is why the experienced international referees were not here today.”
ESPN contacted the Premier League and PGMOL for a response, but was told that neither will be commenting.
Despite the furore, Emery stopped short of saying that the decision had cost his team a place in the Champions League. By that point, Villa were already down to 10 players following a first-half red card shown to goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for a foul on Rasmus Højlund.
“Today we can speak about the season, we can speak about the 90 minutes and we can speak about the key moments,” Emery said. “The key moment was, of course, the goal of Morgan Rogers and how the referee decided the action.
“I spoke with the referee and he knows his mistakes. We make mistakes every day; I do as well. I believe in VAR and I think we have very good referees in the Premier League, but sometimes they make a mistake.
“With this goal,” he said, “maybe [we] could get a better result and Champions League position, but we didn’t deserve more than the result we have.”
