Aston Villa has filed a complaint to the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) against the selection of referee Thomas Bramall for their final Premier League match.
Villa believe that a “more experienced referee” should have been chosen to lead this game, with high stakes.
Villa had only 10 players after Emi Martinez got a red card near the end of the first half. They thought they scored first in the second half when the game was still 0-0.
Manchester United’s goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, who wasn’t under much pressure, slipped while trying to stop the ball in his box.
Villa’s Morgan Rogers took the ball away from him, turned, and shot into the empty goal. It looked like Villa would take the lead. If the goal had counted, Villa would have moved into the Champions League spots with less than 20 minutes left on the last day of the season.
But the referee, Thomas Bramall, said Rogers kicked the ball out of Bayindir’s hands and didn’t allow the goal. Replays showed that Bayindir had already lost the ball before Rogers touched it.
Since Bramall blew the whistle before the ball went into the net, VAR couldn’t check the goal, so it was not allowed.
Aston Villa released a statement addressing the matter, and they even agreed that it’s too late now, the damage has already been done, but they want action to be taken against Bramall’s actions and for the PGMOL to assign experienced referees in big league matches.
“Of the 10 referees to officiate across the Premier League today, Mr Bramall was the second 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”.
“We acknowledge the outcome will not change, but we believe it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure high-stakes matches are treated as such with regards to officiating and to ensure the implemented VAR technology is allowed to be effective.”
The 35-year-old made his first referee debut in the Premier League in 2022 and has officiated 11 games in English football this season and 12 in the Championship.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was breathing fire over Bramall decision to disallow Rogers’ goal. Speaking in the post-match interview, he said: “The TV is clear but, of course, we have to accept it. It was a mistake. A big mistake.”
