"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."

Premier League statement.


"I think he got it awfully wrong - for Newcastle's benefit as they sneak into fifth position because of that.

"I imagine Unai Emery and Villa are raging. I understand what they [the laws] are, but even with Newcastle benefiting you have to feel for Aston Villa.

"That's not a decision that you want to go against you - particularly with what's at stake."

Alan Shearer


What did you make of the controversial decision to rule out Morgan Rogers’ goal?

“Today we can speak about the season, we can speak about the 90 minutes and the key moment. The key moment was Morgan Rogers’ goal and how the referee in that moment decided this action.

“He whistled. He needed to have it under his control, waiting for VAR. I believe in VAR. I spoke with the referee and he knows his mistake.

“We make mistakes every day and so do I, my players and the referees. We have to accept it. I believe in VAR.

“I think we have very good referees in the Premier League. It was a key moment.

“Through it we could have got a Champions League position, but we didn’t deserve it after the first half we had.”

Did the referee apologise?

“It is not necessary. He knows. He knows immediately that he made a mistake.”

Should the referee appointed have had more experience?

“Every team, we have some referees who make mistakes during the season. I believe in the referees. I believe in VAR and I accept it sometimes when they are making mistakes.”

What did you make of the first-half performance?

“So, so disappointed how we played for 30 minutes. We got better. After it, we felt better on the field and started to get chances to dominate and to get into their box.

“When we got better, Martinez was sent off. I accepted it. After it, we needed to be resilient and believe. We had to be strong, keeping a good result and then trying to get more offensively.

“The action of Morgan was the key moment. After they scored, we were trying to push in the last 10 minutes to draw the match.

“Overall, I can analyse the season we did. We achieved the objective, being in Europe. This is the third year in a row in Europe and we want to enjoy it.”

What difference does qualifying for the Europa League instead of the Champions League make?

“To be in Europe is the most important thing, then continue our process. Being in the Champions League is better, but the Europa League is something that two and a half years ago, to achieve it is still fantastic.

“The Premier League is very difficult. The first part of the season we weren’t performing well. We lost opportunities over the season to get more consistency. We got 66 points, which is fantastic. We want to be ambitious to increase more and more.

“The club is working in this direction and we are trying to be consistent in our process. Being in the Champions League is better because we have more money and that is important, but in the Europa League, we can feel happy and comfortable.

“We can add next season another way for a trophy and another way to share with our supporters good moments. We played in the quarter-finals this season and the semi-final in Europe last season.”



"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 2nd 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.

"As per the standards that have been established over the course of the season, a decision to whistle early is clearly inconsistent with current refereeing guidelines. VAR exists to ensure that these types of situations receive the scrutiny they deserve. Unfortunately, the technology was not allowed to serve its purpose.

"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."

Club Statement