Unai Emery subtly implied that his team didn’t even deserve to win, while captain John McGinn was much more direct. Still – it hurts. It inevitably leaves a mark, makes you feel wronged, especially when so much is at stake. And on Sunday at Old Trafford, Aston Villa lost their place in the Champions League and all the benefits that come with it, primarily financial. And much of that was due to a refereeing error that has been widely discussed in the UK.Morgan Rogers thought he had given Aston Villa the lead at Old Trafford, but referee Thomas Bramall had blown for a foul on Altay Bayindir before the ball had reached the net.But the Manchester United goalkeeper was never in control of the ball. Moments later, Amad gave Ruben… pic.twitter.com/7akciececv— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 25, 2025 A refereeing error that, according to Aston Villa’s camp – was obvious. It concerned a goal that head referee Thomas Bramall disallowed for the Birmingham club, one that could have brought Unai Emery’s team closer to the Champions League – perhaps even sent them there. Morgan Rogers scored about twenty minutes before the end, when the score was 0-0, but Bramall ruled that the goal had been scored in an illegal manner. Rogers had, in fact, knocked the ball out of Altay Bayındır’s hands before putting it into the empty net, but the 35-year-old referee decided that the English midfielder had committed a foul and whistled for the infraction even before the ball crossed the goal line.Ten-man Villa collapse late at Old Trafford as lucky Newcastle get in Champions League despite lossManchester United soon took the lead, then sealed the win with a second goal, knocking out the numerically weakened Villa and, despite Everton’s defeat, sent Newcastle to the Champions League. Aware of the opportunity missed and visibly disappointed, Emery stood silently by the pitch for a while after the match, while his players tried to argue with Bramall. Eventually, he rushed them down the tunnel himself, realizing that debating with the referee would change nothing.“I make mistakes every day. Today I made mistakes too. Players make mistakes on the field. Sometimes we have to accept refereeing mistakes” Emery said after the match.Aston Villa can confirm the club has written to the PGMOL to raise concerns over the selection process of match officials following today’s game with Manchester United at Old Trafford.With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee… pic.twitter.com/Ma09U4glOQ— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) May 25, 2025 But that didn’t stop Aston Villa’s management from filing a complaint—not about the error itself, as it can’t be undone, but about the referee selection process to prevent similar oversights in the future. The Villa Park officials pointed out that an insufficiently experienced referee had been appointed for the match, and it’s hard to argue against that. Bramall made his Premier League debut less than three years ago, and this season he officiated only 11 top-flight matches, including Sunday’s—only one of which (Liverpool vs. Tottenham in April) was of a similarly high profile.“Aston Villa can confirm the club has written to the PGMOL to raise concerns over the selection process of match officials following today’s game with Manchester United at Old Trafford. With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee should have been appointed. 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. 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” says Villa in their official statement. The referee Thomas Bramall disallowed the goal as he believed that Rogers kicked the ball out of Bayindir’s grasp. However, replays show the United ‘keeper had lost possession before Rogers’ intervention. Because Bramall blew the whistle before the goal was scored, VAR could not intervene and the goal did not stand.Time to suffer: Manchester lost 90 million and it will get worseBut now, it‘s too late and the damage is done. It’s difficult to accurately assess the extent of that damage at this moment. Villa stands to lose between 35 million and 120 million euros in revenue. That money would have come in very handy, considering that the club has suffered losses of around 240 million over the past two years and has been struggling for some time to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Even if they had qualified for the Champions League, Villa would have been forced to sell some players this June—but now that they’ve missed out, it’s almost certain they’ll have to sell even more. It’s also becoming clear who those players might be. There has already been speculation about the possible sale of Emiliano Martínez, and The Athletic notes there is interest in Ollie Watkins, Boubacar Kamara, Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey, and Morgan Rogers—who could potentially bring in the most money for the club.##NAJAVA_MECA_8946502##
