Premier League issue statement following three controversial moments during Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa
The Premier League released statements for three contentious refereeing incidents during Aston Villa’s 1-0 win away at Brentford.
Unai Emery’s men came out on top to seal an important three points in what was a cagey affair at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Referee Jarred Gillett oversaw several controversial moments throughout as VAR intervened to disallow a goal and he twice decided against awarding Brentford a penalty.
The ruled out strike – from Morgan Rogers shortly after Ollie Watkins scored what turned out to be the winner – was due to a very tight offside that required video intervention. Watkins had held up the ball well before cutting it back for Rogers to tuck away but Watkins was offside in the build-up, timing his run a split-second too early to reach a Jacob Ramsey through pass.
The other controversial calls were against Brentford as winger Kevin Schade was twice bundled over in the box by Villa defender Axel Disasi but Gillett waved away the appeals on both occasions, ultimately costing the hosts a route back into the tie.
The first was a bizarre moment as Matty Cash went to clear the ball but knocked into defensive counterpart Disasi, who then bumped into Schade in a skittle effect. The second was a little more straight-forward as Disasi attempted a challenge on Schade but clumsily made slight contact with the attacker’s trailing leg.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank felt particularly aggrieved about the first incident. “It is a big, big penalty. I don’t understand how VAR can’t overturn it,” Frank said during the post-match press conference. “Disasi clearly took Schade out. The second one was on a softer side, but you can’t go through the back of a player.”
Premier League reacts to Brentford-Villa refereeing drama
All of the incidents mentioned certainly caused a stir around the Gtech with many a debate held between supporters in attendance. As many of the key moments were disputable, the Premier League has issued three statements to clear up the calls made by the officials.
The first, relating to the disallowed goal, read: “VAR checked the referee’s call of goal – and established that Watkins was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed.”
The second, explaining the first penalty call being denied, said: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Brentford was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Cash played the ball before a coming together between Schade and Disasi.”
The third, reasoning the second rejected penalty shout, said: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Brentford following a challenge by Disasi on Schade was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be minimal and initiated by Schade.”
Emery, as he usually does, refused to speak in detail about the officials during his meeting with the press. The Spaniard did make it clear he felt Frank was wrong, though. “For me, not. Clearly not. Clearly not a penalty,” Emery said, short and sweet.
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