Aston Villa issue furious public complaint after huge goal controversy in Manchester United loss | OneFootball

Aston Villa have questioned the selection of “second least experienced” referee Thomas Bramall

Anger: Aston Villa manager Unai Emery

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Aston Villa have confirmed their official complaint to the Premier League over the choice of referee for their key clash at Manchester United after seeing a goal controversially ruled out as they failed to qualify for the Champions League.

United's back-up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir did not have the ball in control when it was taken out of his hands by the Villa man, but referee Thomas Bramall had blown for a foul before his strike found the net.

The Premier League match centre confirmed "the incident was not reviewable by the VAR" as "the whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal" - a body blow quickly followed by Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen goals.

Villa's 2-0 defeat saw them finish sixth and miss out on Champions League qualification, with the club soon after complaining to the Premier League that a more experienced official should have been selected.

A statement read: “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.

“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 2nd least experienced.

“The decision to disallow Morgan Rogers' goal, which would have given the club a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the match, was a major contributing factor to the club not qualifying for the Champions League.

“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. 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.”