Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has accused VAR of making a “big mistake” by not recommending a red card for Elliott Anderson during their 1-0 Europa League semi-final first leg defeat to Nottingham Forest.
After 31 minutes at the City Ground, Forest midfielder Anderson slipped in to try to dislodge Villa’s Ollie Watkins, but in doing so grabbed the forward’s ankle as he raised his studs, causing considerable pain.
Referee João Pinheiro did not penalize Anderson on the field and after a very brief review, VAR Thiago Martins upheld the decision.
It was a decision that Emery did not agree with, but he made it clear after the game.
“The referee was great, but VAR was very bad,” he told TNT Sports.
“This is a clear red card. I saw it now. I don’t understand why VAR didn’t call the referee when it was so obvious.”
“I think this is a big mistake and VAR is to blame.
“The referee was great. He did a great job and I’m very grateful to him for controlling the game for 90 minutes.”
“He could break his ankle. Wow. VAR, where are you? Please, it’s your responsibility.
“You are a professional, but it was obvious to everyone that you were doing a very poor job.”
“I’m always 100 percent, 100 percent for VAR, but we have to manage VAR in the right way,” Emery added in the post-match press conference.
“One action like that has no meaning, because it is so obvious. There is no doubt about it. Where is the doubt? Where does the doubt see the action? Where is it?”
“It was important not to lose consciousness after conceding the goal.”
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery told TNT Sports.
“We lost, but we had chances to score and we had some momentum. We stopped the opponent’s high press and the game went as planned.
“We defended well and we saved some crosses, but the penalty was one of the actions they could have taken as they did and we lost.
“But we will play the first 90 minutes and of course play another 90 minutes at Villa Park.
Nottingham Forest are awarded a penalty when Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne (partially blocked) handles the ball inside the penalty area
“I didn’t watch the match and I didn’t talk to him (Luca Digne). Tomorrow we will talk about everything we felt and after we analyze we will find out something clear.”
“After the goal, the most important thing was to stay focused and stick to the game plan. Of course they were excited, they pushed well and defended well, but they were also good in transition.”
“Even if we didn’t score a single goal in 70 minutes, we had to keep the same mindset after the goal to get a draw, but what was more important at that moment was not to concede a goal.
“Tonight’s game won’t end in 95 minutes. The game will continue next week, so we have to get back together and get a result.”
