Aston Villa fans furious at referee incident v Juventus, BBC pundit reacts
Aston Villa were left furious with referee Jesus Gil Manzano in their game against Juventus.
Villa Park is hosting the Old Lady in the Champions League on 27 November, and around 30 minutes into the match, the Spanish official made a contentious call when the Lions played a free-kick.
Richard Wilford and Garry Thomson were on commentary for BBC WM [27 November, 20:30], and gave their feeling regarding the incident when the Villans tried to play from a set-piece.
“As Villa take the free-kick, the Juventus player has only gone back three or four yards, Yildiz, and the referee just shrugs. Doesn’t let the free-kick be taken again, doesn’t penalise Yildiz, just shrugs,” Wilford said.
The Former Villa star Thompson responds: “You do get the feeling had that position had been reversed, he would’ve stopped it and made them take it again, and might’ve booked people.”
As the Villa Park crowd grew irate, and there were boos directed towards Gil Manzano for his call.
Aston Villa need victory against Juventus
Witht the game 0-0 at half-time, Villa need to do something special in the second half as it looks like the referee isn’t going to let them have a comfortable evening.
The Villans are sitting comfortably in the group stage table at the moment and look set to qualify for the knockout rounds as things stand, winning three of their four fixtures in the European competition.
While Villa have set themselves up quite well in the competition, they still need to be wary, with the loss against Club Brugge showcasing the unpredictable nature of the Champions League.
The Lions have a tough challenge ahead of them in the second half against Juventus, and Unai Emery needs to make bold decisions at the break.
Villa need to be more creative up front and need to take the game to the Old Lady who seem to have dominated the proceeding so far.
With several of the Lions’ players on bookings, the Villa Park faithful will hope that Gil Manzano keeps his pockets out of his hands as the game restarts.
In other Aston Villa news, the Villans have an advantage against Juventus at Villa Park.
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