Thomas Bramall

[PaulWinch again]

Has he officially acknowledged his mistake?

He won’t - there’s no point and they don’t put ref’s out like that.

[olaftab]

I wish nothing but Japanese Knotweed to invade his garden.

[Brend'Watkins]

I wish nothing but Japanese Knotweed to invade his garden.

If he were to step bare footed on lego bricks every day for the rest of his life I wouldn’t feel sorry for him.

[Chap]

I wish nothing but Japanese Knotweed to invade his garden.

Pure evil😜

[Smithy]

The reason we didn't qualify for the CL is because we weren't good enough over 38 games. Any complaint from  the Club is both pointless and belittling.

We are better than that.

Correct, it would be all a bit Liverpool to start making formal complaints etc . that resolve nothing anyway . Take it on the chin and move on .

I wouldn’t normally agree with a club statement but this was needed. It’s doesn’t ask for a replay, it doesn’t go in on the ref but asks for an explanation as to why he was given the game. I think it was needed because the PGMOL has become an embarrassment.
This is not just a bad decision, which happens most times we play them, it goes against everything, in every game they’ve done and spoken about all season.
They don’t blow early because they use VAR to make the decision but yesterday the ref goes against that. It’s not corruption, it’s total incompetence on a level that needs an explanation and one for the public to see. The ref has decided he doesn’t want to use VAR this time.
You get managers going public and attacking the refs in interviews yet Emery has done the opposite after, which shows a lot of class. I think we are due an explanation from an organisation that hides behind every excuse in the book. The PGMOL needs an overhaul because they are making a mockery of the game and if that’s what this encourages then it’s been worth it.
Do little old Aston Villa not deserve an experienced referee for our game? It’s about time someone called them out and about time we stuck up for ourselves because no one else will.

Agree with all of this.  Unai himself said after the game, the ref made a mistake, but players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes.  His biggest mistake was blowing too early and denying VAR the opportunity to review it.  I am 100% sure that the fact that half of his games this season have been in the Championship (which doesn't have VAR) played a part in his error.  I'm confident that pretty much any ref who has ONLY ref'd Premier league and VAR games this season doesn't make the same mistake.

I'm perfectly happy with the club's complaint.  It acknowledges it was a mistake, doesn't ask for anything to be overturned or changed, but places on record our displeasure at such an inexperienced ref getting such a high-profile game on the last day of the season, when other excellent and experienced refs were available.

I bet the first draft was LOT stronger worded :-)

[Exeter 77]

I was discussing the decision with a mate last night and said I can't tell whether PGMOL are corruption masquerading as incompetence or vice versa but you also have to throw lack of experience into the mix. That is what the club is questioning.

[Smithy]

I was discussing the decision with a mate last night and said I can't tell whether PGMOL are corruption masquerading as incompetence or vice versa but you also have to throw lack of experience into the mix. That is what the club is questioning.

I think Hanlon's razor applies: "never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence".  It was a bad decision to appoint him, and he made a bad decision in the game.  I certainly don't think there is anything Machiavellian going on.

[Exeter 77]

I was discussing the decision with a mate last night and said I can't tell whether PGMOL are corruption masquerading as incompetence or vice versa but you also have to throw lack of experience into the mix. That is what the club is questioning.

I think Hanlon's razor applies: "never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence".  It was a bad decision to appoint him, and he made a bad decision in the game.  I certainly don't think there is anything Machiavellian going on.

No, incompetence and inexperience is the explanation but PGMOL's consistent lack of planning for foreseeable events like this are just embarrassing.

[Drummond]

It was just a mistake. And let's face it how many times can any of us remember a challenge like that not being a foul? He blew too quickly, on a very big occasion in front of the biggest crowd of his career.

It's something our statement covers. In that moment he made a choice, and as it turns out it's the wrong one.

[Rory]

It was just a mistake. And let's face it how many times can any of us remember a challenge like that not being a foul? He blew too quickly, on a very big occasion in front of the biggest crowd of his career.

It's something our statement covers. In that moment he made a choice, and as it turns out it's the wrong one.

Pretty much where I am.

For all the talk of a 'new Villa', and for as shit as Man Utd are, could anyone have hand-picked a worse fixture for us to need anything from than away at Old Trafford?

As others have said, it was like Villa vs Man Utd bingo:

- We played shit
- We had a player sent off
- We had a referee error deny us a goal
- We had a penalty against us

We can rant and rage, but we need to worship at the church of CD. We need to humble ourselves and regard it as something greater than just our support of a football club. Aston Villa serves as a sublime philosophical and theological proof - that of the Epicurean Paradox.

Picking a random point in time but one long enough ago to be valid, one can easily substitute the existence of suffering/evil with Aston Villa's record vs Man Utd since I was born (1989):

- If god is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, he cannot be omniscient, because the only explanation is that he is not able to see this happening.

- If god is omniscient and omnibenevolent, he cannot be omnipotent, because the only explanation is that he cannot stop this from happening.

- If god is omnipotent and omniscient, he cannot be omnibenevolent, because the only explanation is that he is choosing to allow this to happen.

We are more than a football club. We are proof of the non-existence of God.

[darren woolley]

Terrible Ref.

[aj2k77]

Championship level. Let's not forget the fact that apart from making the wrong decision to blow and deny the use of VAR, he's got the actual decision incorrect as well. So if there were no VAR we would have been screwed by a crap ref anyway. He's fucking shit, should be reffing Rags vs Oxford type games next season.

[Drummond]

I don't blame him for getting the decision wrong,  because in real time and in any normal situation from where he was, that looks like a foul.

He blew too early, because he was confident in what he saw. He was wrong, it's costly, but he's a young guy in a very tough moment. It shouldn't ruin his career, he was put in by Webb and PGMOL, and that's where the real criticism should lay. That bunch of incompetents.

[Richie]

The really frustrating thing is that the more experienced referees weren’t particularly busy on the day. From what I’ve read, Michael Oliver was on VAR at the nothing match between Spurs and Brighton. But because he is a Newcastle fan, they probably thought he isn’t the best man for the job at Old Trafford. I’m not saying he is the best there is or that he hasn’t screwed us over in the past, but with his experience he probably doesn’t blow his whistle a second before the ball crosses the line.

[tomd2103]

I don't blame him for getting the decision wrong,  because in real time and in any normal situation from where he was, that looks like a foul.

He blew too early, because he was confident in what he saw. He was wrong, it's costly, but he's a young guy in a very tough moment. It shouldn't ruin his career, he was put in by Webb and PGMOL, and that's where the real criticism should lay. That bunch of incompetents.

Agree about the decision itself, but it was the decision to blow the whistle when he did that was the key one.  It would be interesting to know if referees are Instructed to let play go in those kind of circumstances, but I guess it was such a rare occurrence that it might not be covered. 

Going forward, I guess the VAR rule could be changed to check incidents that occur after the whistle if a goal is scored immediately after?