‘Aston Villa to launch fresh Premier League complaint after new reveal’
Aston Villa missed out on Champions League football on goal difference after their controversial final-day loss to Manchester United last season.
The 2-0 defeat saw Emi Martinez sent off early on before Morgan Rogers had a goal controversially ruled out, which made Europa League football inevitable for Villa.
Unai Emery’s side impressed in the Champions League last season, but unfortunately won’t have their trips to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain again after an accumulation of errors from match officials.
Aston Villa had most refereeing errors go against them last season
Following the loss to United, Villa sent a letter to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited complaining about the quality of refereeing.
The Villans frequently had decisions go against them last season, including a huge penalty shout being dismissed in their 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool.
It has now been revealed by Football Talk HQ (2 July) that Aston Villa were hit the most by refereeing errors with six decisions going against them.
The conclusion was made by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel, with Simon Hooper rated the best referee from last season.
Rivals in Villa’s chase for European football, Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace had zero errors go in their favour.
Premier League have major unfair effect on Aston Villa
Refereeing errors not only cost Aston Villa Champions League football, but they could have also cost them multiple incomings this transfer window.
Last season’s mistakes by officials meant Villa also missed out on millions of pounds in merit payments.
Emery’s side has already missed out on the likes of Sverre Nypan and Jesus Rodriguez this summer, with PSR issues likely a major problem.
The errors from officials, along with controversial financial rules, have made it even more difficult for teams outside the Big Six to establish themselves as a top Premier League team.
The Villans may still be forced to sell players this summer as a result of painfully missing out on the top five, with Morgan Rogers among those linked with a move away.
Villa are now playing catch-up, having now seemingly sorted their finances, and the Premier League could be expecting another official complaint.
Sign up for the Villa News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Aston Villa news sent straight to your phone.