Premier League make announcement about major Brighton v Aston Villa controversy
Aston Villa were superb in the second half on Wednesday night as they secured a 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen struck after the break to scoop another vital three-point haul as Unai Emery and his side head deep into the season in a trio of competitions.
Jacob Ramsey was lively during the goalless first half on the South Coast, and was caught up in an incident which drew a reaction from the Premier League.
Ramsey controversy sees statement issued by Premier League
Ramsey and Aston Villa strongly believe they should have had a penalty when the winger looked to be brought down by Jack Hinshelwood in the first half.
The Villa man appeared to go down under contact by virtue of a trip, but the referee and his VAR team were not convinced.
The Premier League stepped in with an official announcement shortly afterwards, claiming: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Aston Villa following a challenge by Hinshelwood on Ramsey was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed not to reach the threshold for a foul.”
The “threshold” appears to change every week in the eyes of many, who believe not enough consistency is applied – many, many penalties will be given for near-identical incidents in the future across the English top flight.
Luckily for Ramsey and his side, it mattered little in the grand scheme as the Villans turned on the style in the second period, too much for Fabian Hurzeler’s men who they now leapfrog into seventh.
#BHAAVL – 37’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) April 2, 2025
The referee’s call of no penalty to Aston Villa following a challenge by Hinshelwood on Ramsey was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed not to reach the threshold for a foul.
Aston Villa have three competitions at stake
Aston Villa live to fight on in the Premier League in search of repeated Champions League qualification, and remain in the last eight of the European top table itself.
The FA Cup provides perhaps the most viable route to silverware, with a winnable tie at Wembley later this month lined up against Crystal Palace – both sides have reached the final within the past decade, but have failed to get over the line.
| Aston Villa | Total |
| League titles | 7 |
| European Cups (now Champions League) | 1 |
| FA Cups | 7 |
| League Cups | 5 |
It truly is a rollercoaster for the Aston Villa faithful, and Emery is keeping them right in contention with some superb performances from an increasingly glittering array of players.
Ramsey will be desperate to join the likes of Rashford and Morgan Rogers in England recognition soon, and it’s testament to how Emery rates him that he continues on the trajectory he’s on, despite all the top competition around him.