Exclusive: Premier League in talks amid Aston Villa-Crystal Palace staff incident
Premier League officials are in talks with clubs to avoid more incidents like what Aston Villa and Crystal Palace fans witnessed on Tuesday night.
Unai Emery saw his side slump down to 10th in the table with a heavy defeat away at Selhurst Park.
And while most of the post-match talk will be about Morgan Rogers’ goal being controversially disallowed for a tight offside call, there are high-level discussions going on at the Premier League about a lesser-spotted incident in Villa’s defeat in South London.
Premier League talks underway amid Robin Olsen incident at Crystal Palace
The Athletic journalist Jacob Tanswell reported via his personal X account on 25 February that Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen caused “chaos” at half-time at Selhurst Park in a clash with Palace’s staff.
It is understood that as the 35-year-old warmed up to replace Emi Martinez at the break, he found himself getting in the way of Crystal Palace’s half-time entertainment.
Even though he was asked to move, Olsen stood his ground and refused.
| Position | Played | GD | Points |
| 7. Bournemouth | 27 | +13 | 43 |
| 8. Brighton | 27 | +5 | 43 |
| 9. Fulham | 27 | +4 | 42 |
| 10. Aston Villa | 28 | -5 | 42 |
Former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett has revealed that there are talks going on to avoid incidents like this as they can damage the reputation of the competition.
“The Premier League is in discussion with clubs to designate where players can warm up before the game and during the interval,” Hackett told Villa News.
“It is this arrangement that can prevent this problem.
“Knowing where players are going to warm up also allows the groundsman to know where and when to turn on the sprinklers.
“Sometimes these incidents harm the image of the Premier League.”
Why was Martinez taken off in Aston Villa’s loss at Crystal Palace?
Olsen replaced Martinez at the break before conceding three times in Villa’s defeat at Palace.
Speaking after the game, Emery confirmed that Martinez had felt some discomfort in training earlier this week, which emerged again during the first half versus Palace.
Emery said: “He was feeling some pain [on Monday] but he trained.
“Today (Tuesday) he did the warm-up and was feeling good. But in the first half, he told us he was feeling some pain. I don’t exactly what.”
Olsen has come off the bench twice in the Premier League this season, replacing Martinez at half-time on both occasions.
He’s conceded four goals in his 90 minutes of league football this term.