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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was highly critical of the video assistant referee for not sending off Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson in two impassioned rants after his side’s 1-0 loss in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Anderson avoided punishment for a first-half sliding tackle in which he played the ball but then caught the ankle of Ollie Watkins with a high, studs-up challenge.
Referee Joao Pinheiro did not take action – and there was only what appeared to be a very brief VAR review before the incident was cleared.
Forest would go on to win through a VAR-awarded penalty which Chris Wood scored – but Emery accepted that decision.
“Fantastic, the referee, fantastic,” Emery told TNT Sports. “But the VAR is so, so bad. It’s a clear red card – I don’t understand why the VAR is not calling the referee because it’s so clear.
“And it’s very, very important. It’s a huge, huge mistake. VAR is responsible.
“The referee – fantastic, fantastic job, 10 out of 10. I appreciated how he managed the match for 90 minutes.
“But I watched it back – wow. Huge. He could break his ankle. Wow, VAR – where are you? Please. It is your responsibility, we are professionals. You are doing very bad work because it was so clear for everybody [to see]. He could break his ankle.
“I respect the referees always but VAR, I don’t understand. It’s not fair.”
TNT Sports‘He must give us an explanation’
Emery was furious about the decision when he spoke to the TV cameras moments after full-time – and still felt the same when he sat down to face the written media in the post-match news conference.
He continued: “The penalty I didn’t watch – everyone is telling me it’s a penalty.”
Lucas Digne was penalised for handling Omari Hutchinson’s cross – with Wood converting the spot-kick.
It was not initially given as it appeared the ball had gone behind for a goal-kick before Hutchinson hooked it back in, but replays showed the Forest player had kept it in play.
But back to the decision that infuriated the Spaniard.
“I watched the action of Anderson on Watkins, and the referee did a fantastic job,” Emery said.
“I was so, so feeling comfortable with how he managed the game in 90 minutes, but after watching it again, it is the VAR responsibility.
“It is a huge mistake – a huge mistake. Ollie Watkins was close to breaking his ankle. The VAR has a huge responsibility and he must give us an explanation. It is crazy!
“The ref can’t watch it like me. One action like that can break his ankle. The VAR makes sense if they are fair. What is your opinion? Wow.
“In football I work 20 years as a coach. Sometimes decisions are tight. I am 100% with VAR, but we must manage it good and in the right way. One action like that, there is no doubt. Where is VAR?”
Should Anderson have been sent off?
In the Premier League, we have become used to a higher threshold for serious foul play.
Often we will hear an explanation that contact is ‘glancing’, or ‘lacking in force’.
That is not the case with Uefa, whose referees are always told to apply a strict interpretation for any challenge which could endanger the safety of an opponent.
There are three reasons why a red card should be the expected outcome here.
Firstly, Watkins was hit above the boot. Uefa tells its referees this is a trigger for possible serious foul play.
Force and intensity still have to be considered, and two factors underline this.
Anderson was sliding into the tackle with a degree of pace. This indicates a lower level of control than if, say, he was stepping into the challenge. It is this aspect which really ticks the box for a red card.
Contact on Watkins was with a straight leg, too, which suggests greater force impact on the opponent compared to when the leg is bent.
Winning the ball does not over-ride how a player makes a challenge, either.
As the referee did not even give a foul, he cannot provide a description which fits the incident.
That puts the onus solely on the VAR to judge this as serious foul play. He decided against it.
As the VAR cannot advise that a yellow card should be shown, Anderson escaped unpunished.
What has Emery previously said?
In October 2023, Emery said: “I’m always positive with VAR. I think it is good for football. I think it helps the referee always.”
And in December 2024 after Jhon Duran was sent off against Newcastle United, he said: “Always I am supporting VAR, but you have to use VAR.
“Today the red card was clear for the referee straight away. He was the only person in the stadium who couldn’t take his time.”
