Exclusive: Ex-PGMOL chief reacts to Ramsey incident in Aston Villa win v Brighton
Aston Villa were made to sweat over multiple incidents in their 3-0 win away at Brighton on Wednesday night.
Unai Emery saw his team leapfrog the Seagulls to move into seventh position in the Premier League and increase their chances of playing in European football next season.
Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, the two loan stars, were both on the scoresheet to help secure all three points, as well as January signing Donyell Malen, but Brighton felt as though they should have had more out of the game.
Jacob Ramsey avoids conceding penalty in Brighton v Aston Villa
Simon Adingra had a goal disallowed in the second half, but earlier on in the game, Brighton players thought they should have had a penalty when the ball struck Jacob Ramsey‘s arm in the penalty area.
While the ball certainly hit Ramsey’s arm in the 42nd minute, former PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett believes the Aston Villa star was standing in a natural position, meaning it wasn’t a handball.
“The referee is correct in judging that Ramsey had not deliberately handled the ball,” Hackett told Villa News.
“It struck his arm, which was in a natural position.
“The position of the hand or arm did not make his body shape bigger, so it was the correct decision by Stuart Attwell, who had a busy night.”
Aston Villa march on towards Europe with win at Brighton
Aston Villa were good value for their 3-0 win at Brighton.
It was never going to be an easy game for Emery and his men, but the in-form trio of Rashford, Asensio and Morgan Rogers were on song to secure a massive three points.
Brighton definitely had chances to ruin Emi Martinez’s clean sheet, but they lacked the cutting edge needed in these high-stakes games and that defeat could leave the South Coast club without European football next season.
As for Aston Villa, they’ll know have their sights set firmly on asserting their spot in the top seven against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.