Brentford told to contact PGMOL after Aston Villa incident as Arsenal precedent set
Aston Villa had a tricky start away at Brentford on Saturday in a game they went on to lose 1-0.
The Villans went a goal down early on thanks to a goal from Dango Ouattara, and Brentford briefly thought their lead had doubled when Mikkel Damsgaard fired into the net.
However, it was quickly disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a foul on Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez in the build-up to the goal.
The Premier League Match Centre confirmed that Nathan Collins was judged to have carelessly challenged Martinez after a ball crossed into the box.
Chris Sutton urges Brentford to contact PGMOL
The challenge looked eerily similar to Arsenal’s goal against Manchester United on the previous matchday.
Arsenal’s goal came after a slight nudge on Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. United were furious that the goal was allowed to stand.
Commentating on the goal on BBC’s Final Score, Chris Sutton insisted that Brentford had a right to be incensed.
He said: “Collins just leans into Martinez and knocks him a little bit, which stops him from coming out for the cross.
“The goal that Manchester United conceded to Arsenal last weekend was similar and that stood. If I was Brentford, I would be pointing that out to the PGMOL.”
Ultimately, the decision didn’t prove crucial because there were no more goals and Brentford won the game 1-0.
Premier League teams just want to see consistency
It was certainly a controversial decision not to award Brentford’s second goal if only because of the precedent set by the officials at Old Trafford on the opening game of the season.
These types of decisions can have a huge impact on teams, managers and finances. It’s no wonder that managers and players get frustrated.
There’s little that’s more annoying than seeing a referee giving one type of decision, only to see him give something else in a similar scenario.
While the players aren’t expecting perfection, they at least want to see the same standards applied across similar situations.
| Brentford | Aston Villa | |
| Goals | 1 | 0 |
| Shots on goal | 9 | 17 |
| Possession | 24 | 76 |
Brentford would be fuming if that decision ended up costing them points. On another day, it could have. It certainly made the match more difficult for the home side.
Aston Villa knocked and knocked at the door, but ultimately couldn’t find an equaliser. Unai Emery’s men were expected to win this game, but they couldn’t quite turn on the style in the final third.
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