Unai Emery issues furious VAR demand after Nottingham Forest win over Aston Villa | OneFootball

Unai Emery issued a furious demand for VAR intervention after Aston Villa’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest.

Elliot Anderson’s first-half challenge on Ollie Watkins was not punished by referee Joao Pinheiro, and Emery said it could have broken his striker’s ankle. According to Nottingham Post, he argued the video officials should have stepped in when the on-field call was left alone.

VAR did act later, penalising Lucas Digne for handball, and Chris Wood converted to give Forest a 1-0 advantage heading into next week’s second leg at Villa Park.

Emery said, “It is a huge mistake, a huge mistake. Ollie Watkins was close to breaking his ankle. The VAR has a huge responsibility and he must give us an explanation. It is crazy!”

Forest head coach Vitor Pereira said the incident occurred metres from him and his impression was that Anderson touched the ball, adding he had not reviewed the footage so could not comment further.

Pereira called it a very tough game against a strong side and said his team tried to press, stay compact and compete. The winners will reach the final in Istanbul.

Source: Nottingham Post