Lamare Bogarde should have been punished in Aston Villa vs Lille, problem is growing – Ex-refs chief
Lamare Bogarde didn’t cover himself in glory as Aston Villa faced off with Lille in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Villans came away with a 1-0 win to take back to Villa Park with them, thanks to a second-half header from Ollie Watkins.
The England international looped a header over Berke Ozer to hand Unai Emery’s side a much-needed victory after a cagey Europa League clash.
Villa may have classed themselves as unlucky on the day, as few decisions seemed to go their way at Decathlon Stadium.
Bogarde was one player who may have felt hard done by, although it appears that he was lucky not to face punishment for the claret and blue outfit.
Lamare Bogarde slammed for diving vs Lille
The Villans are in desperate need of a bit of luck right now after a massively difficult run in recent weeks.
Without John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, the claret and blue outfit have been missing plenty of quality.
Matty Cash was also on the missing list for the trip to France, with Bogarde stepping in and catching himself up in a moment of controversy.
The Dutchman went down inside the penalty area in the first half under challenge from Gaetan Perrin, but referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martínez waved it away.
No penalty was given even after a short VAR check, but former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes Bogarde should have seen yellow for diving.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Hackett said: “Players frankly need to start staying on their feet rather than going to ground in an effort to win a penalty kick by deceiving the referee.
“This was never going to result in the award of a penalty kick and should have seen the player shown a yellow card.
“If referees fail to sanction acts of simulation, the problem will continue.”
When did Aston Villa last have a penalty?
It is clear what Hackett thinks of the challenge on Bogarde, but that doesn’t take away from the frustration at Villa Park.
Aston Villa have gone 324 days since their last penalty. That equates to 10 months, 46 weeks, or over 7,700 hours.
Marcus Rashford was last given the honour to take a spot kick for the Villans, and he found the back of the net against Manchester City in April 2025.
The England international scored in the 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, but no one else has been given that chance in claret and blue ever since.
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