The Premier League have released a statement on a controversial decision during Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the 2024/25 campaign.
Manchester United closed out their 2024/25 campaign in impressive fashion, securing a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on a bright, sunlit afternoon at Old Trafford.
Rúben Amorim’s side created several excellent chances in the opening 15 minutes, showcasing attacking flair that has been missing for much of their season, though once again they struggled to convert.
United continued to control the tempo, and just before half-time, Villa were reduced to ten men when Emiliano Martínez received a red card for a reckless challenge on Rasmus Højlund.
The Reds maintained their momentum after the interval, with Højlund, Bruno Fernandes, and Casemiro all going close to scoring before they seemed to receive a moment of fortune.
Villa thought they had opened the scoring against the run of play through Morgan Rogers, but the referee blew the whistle before he put the ball in the back of the net as he thought the midfielder had taken the ball out of Altay Bayındır’s hands.
Replays showed that the United shot-stopper did not have control of the game but since the referee blew the whistle, VAR could not intervene with the decision.
The breakthrough then came three minutes later, as Amad rose to head in a perfectly delivered cross from Fernandes. Christian Eriksen then capped the afternoon — and his final appearance at Old Trafford — with a composed penalty, which ultimately cost Villa their place in next season’s Champions League.
Premier League release statement on United moment
Aston Villa are more than aware of controversial final-day decisions defining their future. They stayed in the Premier League several years ago after goal-line technology did not work in their last game of the season.
It was a clear mistake from the technology that day but this time around it was the referee’s fault, with the Premier League providing a clear explanation in a statement made on X.
The Premier League Match Centre wrote: “The referee’s 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.”
If the whistle was not blown, the decision would have likely been overturned and Villa would have scored a goal. But over the course of the game, they were not good enough to win.
Emery fuming with Premier League decision
If that decision was against United, we would have all been furious – that is if there was also something on the line for the Reds.
But the bigger question should be about the lack of fight and quality from Villa across 90 minutes against a United side who have been terrible and had nothing to play for but pride.
Read More: Manchester United player ratings in 2-0 win vs Aston Villa as “classy” star gets 8.5/10
That still doesn’t mean much for Unai Emery, who was furious at the decision and followed the referee to his dressing room at Old Trafford after full-time.
“Good evening, the TV… it’s clear. But we have to accept it. A mistake. A big mistake,” the Villa boss told TNT Sports when asked about the decision.
Asked whether he spoke to the officials afterwards, he added: “I talk to him [the referee]. He knows. I don’t want to speak…”
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