Credit: Imago

Aheed Abrar

Thu 30 April 2026 22:10, UK

Aston Villa won’t be happy with Joao Pinheiro after losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Portuguese referee was in the spotlight as Unai Emery was unable to get the better of Vitor Pereira at the City Ground on 30 April.

While Pinheiro did well in letting the game flow in the opening minutes of the game, he clearly missed what was arguably a dangerous tackle from Elliot Anderson on Ollie Watkins at around the half-hour mark.

VAR had a look at the incident as the Forest midfielder’s studs clearly caught the English striker’s ankles after his foot rolled over the ball, but it seems like officials didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error.

Emery was left frustrated at the City Ground as Lucas Digne gave away a penalty and Chris Wood made no mistake from the spot to give the hosts an advantage going into the second leg.

Joao Pinheiro favours Nottingham Forest at City Ground vs Aston Villa

Apart from not finding anything wrong with Anderson’s challenge, which was arguably dangerous enough to warrant a red card, Pinheiro’s performance deteriorated as the game went on.

In the 41st minute, Nicolas Dominguez clearly pushed Watkins in the back as the centre-forward made a run towards the opposition box, but the on-field referee let play continue.

Then moments later, as Omari Hutchinson went on the break, Emi Buendia clearly got the ball with his standing tackle, but the Portuguese referee gave a decision in Forest’s favour as the playmaker went down.

Travelling supporters were justified in expressing their frustration at Pinheiro, who certainly played a factor in the Lions’ loss.

Unai Emery will have Villa Park hope vs Nottingham Forest

Pinheiro continued to make some hard calls against Villa as the second half commenced, something Emery will hope doesn’t repeat at Villa Park.

The Spanish manager will hope that whoever referees the return leg is a bit calmer and more composed when making the big decisions.

At the City Ground, the Lions struggled to maintain momentum after the break as Pinheiro favoured the Tricky Trees and small details matter on such occasions.

The Villains have work to do in B6 as they welcome Forest home on 7 May in a fixture which could be monumental in determining the mood among supporters come the end of the season.