Unai Emery condemns VAR after Aston Villa’s 0-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Unai Emery condemned the video assistant referee after Aston Villa lost 0-1 to Nottingham Forest in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final. According to L'Équipe, he highlighted a heavy tackle by Elliot Anderson that went unpunished.

Emery maintained it was a clear red card and said he could not understand why VAR failed to alert the referee, calling it a huge error for which the system was responsible. Having reviewed the incident, he added that the challenge was enormous and that a broken ankle was possible.

Despite the force of the tackle, Ollie Watkins, Villa’s leading scorer this season with 15 in all competitions, completed the full 90 minutes.

Villa host the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday at 21:00, needing to turn the tie around to give the Spaniard a sixth Europa League final, following 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021.

In the Premier League, the Birmingham club are fifth on 58 points and could secure next season’s Champions League place as soon as Sunday at 20:00 against Tottenham, who are 18th on 34 points and in relegation trouble.

Source: L'Équipe