Breaking down the decision Aston Villa felt cost them the Champions League

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Hands glued behind his back, Unai Emery stood motionless at full-time and his eyes transfixed on one man.

Emery did not move from the moment referee Thomas Bramall blew the whistle for the final time in Aston Villa’s season until, some while later, his stillness was broken by the other officials, prompting the Villa manager to head towards the tunnel.

Director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, and Monchi, president of football operations, had intercepted Emery, but the Spaniard followed Bramall down the long tunnel, protesting the sense of injustice against his team.

This was a tale of more Old Trafford woe for Villa — now three wins in 30 visits — but this time, Villa were enraged by one refereeing error that, in their eyes, ultimately led to the club missing out on Champions League qualification.

The Athletic explains what happened and the potential ramifications…

What happened?

Three minutes ended up defining Villa’s season.

It started in the 74th minute when Manchester United’s goalkeeper Altay Bayindir rushed out of his goal to pick up a straightforward ball from Harry Maguire’s defensive header.

Morgan Rogers, however, stole in before Bayindir had collected cleanly. Rogers nudged the ball past Bayindir, who had only one hand on the ball, before scoring into an empty net.

Crucially, though, Bramall had already blown his whistle to signal a foul before Rogers had scored, meaning the video assistant referee (VAR) could not intervene and overturn the decision.

Had Rogers’ goal stood, Villa would have taken the lead, strengthening their grip on a Champions League position and three points in front of Newcastle United, who went on to lose to Everton.

This incident left Villa’s players and coaching staff incandescent, furiously protesting the decision. Amad Diallo then headed in three minutes later to put United a goal ahead.

Villa were eventually defeated 2-0, ending the season in sixth place, with Emery sarcastically applauding Bramall after awarding United a penalty for a foul on Amad. He took a seat on an Old Trafford step in seeming resignation, accepting Villa would instead qualify for the Europa League.

What was Villa’s reaction?

The Athletic revealed Villa intended to make an official complaint to the Premier League that a more experienced referee was not selected to officiate a game of such magnitude. 

An official club statement came later on Sunday evening, confirming they had written to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body which organises officiating in England:

“With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee should have been appointed,” the statement read.” 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.”

Bramall, 35, was promoted to Select Group 1, the highest level for referees in England, before the 2022-23 campaign. This season, he has refereed in both the Premier League and Championship, overseeing 11 in the top flight and 12 in the second tier, according to Transfermarkt.

PGMOL, the body which organises officiating in England, has been approached for comment.

Emery looks to speak with referee Thomas Bramall after the match (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

From Villa’s perspective, senior figures and staff can accept a human error, even if the decision defined their season and meant they missed out on securing Champions League income, essential to summer plans and their profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) predicament.

The broader issue in the club’s eyes was PGMOL’s lack of preventative measures, such as selecting a more experienced referee given the high stakes involved in the fixture.

Villa’s hierarchy spoke to PGMOL technical director Howard Webb at full-time and the former Premier League referee expressed sympathy for Villa’s complaints.

“The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the decision of the experience of the referee,” Vidagany said in Emery’s post-match press conference. “The problem is that why the international referees weren’t here today.”

“I think he is a young referee who has progressed very quickly,” captain John McGinn told TNT Sports. “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.

“I know the rule but it’s hard on us. For him to blow his whistle at that point, it’s really, really tough to handle. It’s a really costly one. We only needed a point to reach the Champions League.”

Some Villa sources, who have spoken on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, admit their expectation heightened following Newcastle’s defeat. In retrospect, Villa only required a point at Old Trafford to qualify for the Champions League.

Bramall alternates officiating between the Premier League and the second-tier Championship, in which there is no VAR, so a referee does not have to wait for an attacking move to reach its natural conclusion before blowing their whistle.

Yet there is also an acknowledgement that Villa did not deserve to win. Emery admitted the performance “was disappointing”, while McGinn insisted United “absolutely deserved to win”.

Villa failed to register a shot in the first half in an oddly cautious and error-strewn showing. Matty Cash’s poor backpass led to Emiliano Martinez’s red card on the stroke of half time, with Villa having toiled from a structural standpoint before the sending off.

Should VAR be able to overturn an instance after the whistle?

VAR guidelines state that as long as a referee has not blown his whistle before a goal is scored or an offence has occurred, it can intervene. If the referee has already blown before the ball has crossed the line, like Bramall mistakenly did, there is nothing VAR can do.

This may seem jarring given the complaints which followed after Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi suffered a ruptured intestine when colliding with the post earlier this month.

Awoniyi had failed to get on the end of Anthony Elanga’s cross, but the goal would not have stood due to an offside in the build-up. On that occasion, the assistant referee, under instruction, allowed the move to play out, only to then raise the flag once it had come to a natural conclusion.

At Old Trafford, the inverse happened, with Bramall stopping play before Rogers could score.

“The key moment was the goal of Morgan Rogers and how the referee, in that moment, decided this action,” said Emery. “He whistled and he needed to have it under his control, waiting for VAR because VAR was coming.”

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Have similar things happened before?

Yes. And, ironically and painfully again, to Villa.

Away to Crystal Palace in 2019, midfielder Henri Lansbury seemed to have converted a low shot into the far corner. But referee Kevin Friend had blown his whistle for simulation, with Jack Grealish going down in the box just before.

Grealish protested that he had never appealed for the penalty, but Villa’s captain was booked. With Friend having already blown his whistle before Lansbury’s strike, the Premier League confirmed the VAR, Andrew Madley, had been unable to “check the goal”.

Grealish was booked in 2019 in controversial circumstances (Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

This similarly drew the ire of players and travelling supporters, who were denied both a crucial goal and an opportunity for the VAR to review the decision.

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What has this cost Villa?

Aside from becoming the first team outside of the traditional ‘Big Six’ to qualify for the Champions League in successive seasons, Villa will lose out on a minimum of £30million in income, potentially rising upwards of £100m.

This would have helped to offset the current deficit in the club’s finances, having suffered over £200m in losses in the previous two yearly accounts.

Europa League money helps, though it is incomparable to Champions League riches. Less money means less revenue, so, until Villa’s other commercial revenue streams catch up, the large hole in the finances has to be covered by player sales.

Players were required to be sold regardless of whether Villa secured Champions League football for another campaign. Staying in line with PSR — which dictates teams cannot incur losses of over £105m over a three-year period — forms a critical part of the club’s thinking.

This is especially relevant when it comes to UEFA’s financial limits, which restrict spending on “player and coach wages and transfers and agent fees to 70 per cent of the club’s revenue” from the 2025-26 season onwards. This year, Villa have to fall below 80 per cent, having been above the 90 per cent limit in the 2023-24 campaign.

Martinez, Leon Bailey, Boubacar Kamara, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins have suitors, while there is interest in Rogers.

There have also been examples of Villa delaying contract talks until they knew what budget they would have, while some players had been waiting to learn whether they would be playing in Europe’s blue-chip competition next season.

The after-effects of Sunday’s controversial defeat will be felt for some time.

(Top photos: TNT Sports; Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

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