Aston Villa are reportedly preparing to lodge an official complaint with the Premier League over the referee appointment, following a controversial decision to disallow their goal in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Amad and Christian Eriksen both struck in the second half to secure the victory for United and clinch all three points in their final Premier League game of the season.
The Red Devils dominated large spells of the match, but the game was not without its share of controversy, courtesy of the disallowed goal.
There was a moment when Altay Bayindir came rushing out of his goal to claim the ball. He gathered it but not strongly enough, allowing Morgan Rogers to poke it away from his hands.
The Villa midfielder proceeded to fire into the back of an empty net, but referee Thomas Bramall had already blown the whistle for a foul on Bayindir.
Shortly after, Amad broke the deadlock with a superb headed finish, before the Ivorian won a penalty from which Eriksen scored to settle the game.
The loss means that Villa have missed out on Champions League football. The Birmingham outfit needed just a point to qualify for the competition, with Newcastle suffering a 1-0 defeat to Everton.
On the logic behind Bramall’s call, the Premuer League, via its Match Centre X account wrote, “The referees 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.”
#MUNAVL 72
The referees 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.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) May 25, 2025
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Villa are planning on lodging an official complaint to the Premier League that a more experienced referee should have been selected to take charge of the high-stakes encounter.
Ornstein notes that Bramall was promoted to Select Group 1 – which is the highest level for referees in England – ahead of the 2022/23 season. The 35-year-old has alternated between Premier League and Championship matches this term.
After the game, Villa boss Unai Emery said [as quoted by The Standard], “The TV (evidence) is clear but, of course, we have to accept it. It is a big mistake.”
“The goal (being) disallowed was the key moment but overall they deserve it more. We were resilient with one player less and we could score one goal. It was a good opportunity to continue being resilient and keep the result.”
“I speak to the referee and he knows it (was a mistake). But I don’t want to speak about VAR. We go to Europa League but we were close to Champions League. Our objective (at the start of the season) was to be in Europe, and we have to be happy and proud with what we did.”
Emery’s sentiments were echoed by John McGinn, who also acknowledged that United were the better team.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
