Premier League release statement on decision that denied Aston Villa goal vs Man Utd as club ready official complaint
Villa thought they had gone in front in their crunch clash away at Manchester United on the final day of the season.
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Morgan Rogers poked the ball away from United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir before finishing into an open net after Harry Maguire's header.
But referee Thomas Bramall blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line.
He thought Rogers had kicked the ball out of Bayindir's hands and therefore awarded a free-kick against the Villa man.
However, replays showed Bayindir did not have the ball under control and the goal should have stood.
However, the laws of the game state that a goal cannot be retrospectively awarded after the whistle has blown - even if done in error.
VAR did take a brief look at the incident.
But that was only to confirm the whistle had gone before the goal was scored - thus leaving the officials hamstrung.
And the Premier League statement clarified the situation.
Their Match Centre account tweeted during the United vs Villa match: "72' - The referee's call was a free kick to Manchester United with Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Rogers gained possession.
"The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore the incident was not reviewable by the VAR."
To rub salt into the wounds for Villa - who were in fifth at the time of the referee controversy - United went up the other end and scored the opener through Amad Diallo.
A Christian Eriksen penalty sealed a 2-0 home win as Villa had to settle for sixth and missed out on the Champions League on goal difference behind Newcastle - who lost at home to Everton.
And the Premier League's statement did not do anything to tame ten-man Villa's fury - as SunSport understands the club will launch an official complaint over the appointment of an inexperienced ref for such an important match.
Bramall has taken charge of league matches across the Premier League and Championship this term - with Sunday's Old Trafford game his 11th in the top flight.
That took his Premier League tally to 30 - ironically, that is less than a third of the amount overseen by today's fourth official Bobby Madley.
Captain John McGinn was raging after the game and said: "I think everyone wanted the correct decisions when the VAR was implemented.
"You watch rugby, even if the referee has awarded a try and it's wrong, its overturned.
"It's so so hard to take especially when the impact it has on us, as a club and a team, is so big.
"It's really, really tough to take and handle. I don't think we deserved to win but if you were 1-0 up at that point and all you need is a point to get to the Champions League, it's costly.
"Moving forward, the rule has to be looked at as the correct decisions were not getting made at the end of the day. I think [referee] Thomas [Bramall] knew. It probably wasn't fair on him at that moment either. The boys are gutted."
Asked if the ref acknowledged his mistake, he said: "He didn't really know what to say.
"Because of the impact it has on us as players and our careers, the club, you are obviously angry. I think he is a young referee who has progressed very quickly.
"Maybe we could look at having more experienced referees. I don't know. It's just an incredible decision and makes today even worse than it should be."
Villa manager Unai Emery added: "It was a mistake. A big mistake.
"The match we played overall in 90 minutes with the red card and this goal disallowed, it was a key moment. But overall, they did more."
Emery revealed he spoke with the referee after the game: "Yes, I told him but he knows it [he made a mistake]."
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