Credit: TNT Sports

Max Wilkins

Fri 1 May 2026 11:10, UK

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was fuming that Elliot Anderson didn’t get sent off for Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

The Villans fell to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, with Chris Wood netting the only goal of the evening.

The New Zealand international crashed home a penalty after Lucas Digne was penalised for a crazy handball inside the area.

That was frustrating enough for the claret and blue faithful, but the fact that the home side still had 11 players on the pitch was wild.

Anderson avoided a red card against Villa despite an ankle-high tackle on Ollie Watkins, a decision that left Emery uncharacteristically raging.

What did Unai Emery say after the Nottingham Forest defeat?

It has to be said that the away side were generally poor on the day and failed to truly land a glove on the Reds throughout the 90.

Vitor Pereira’s men were good value for their victory, even if their goal did come about in totally bizarre circumstances.

That doesn’t take away from the fact that they should have been down to 10-men when Anderson flew over the ball and into Watkins.

The midfielder’s studs planted into the Villa man’s ankle, but he somehow avoided injury, while his England international colleague miraculously avoided a booking from referee Joao Pinheiro.

He said: “It’s a huge mistake, huge mistake, because Ollie Watkins was close to breaking his ankle. He [Pinheiro] must give us an explanation about it, because it’s crazy. Watching the action is crazy.

“It doesn’t make sense because it’s so, so clear. There’s no doubt. Where is the doubt watching the action? VAR? Where is? Where is VAR? Where is the referee? Wow, crazy.”

That sums up the feeling of the B6 faithful, although Villa’s defeat to Nottingham Forest could now make way for punishment for the Spaniard.

Emery set for UEFA punishment after Aston Villa defeat vs Nottingham Forest controversy

The wider football world was in total agreement with the Villa boss, although that may not be enough for him to avoid a sanction from UEFA.

His comments could land him in hot water with the Europa League’s organisers, especially after directly criticising the match official.

That is the feeling of former Villa employee Bryan King, who believes the decision not to send Anderson off was wrong, but fears for Emery after his fiery press conference.

Speaking exclusively to Villa News, King said: “Without any shadow of a doubt, it was a red card.

“Nottingham Forest got very lucky; it was late and over the top of the ball, and he should have been sent off.

“I would love to see the referee’s report on it, because the fact that VAR didn’t think it was necessary to intervene just proves there’s something wrong there.

“Emery will be in trouble for his comments criticising the referee.

“If you retaliate against the officials, it’s you who gets punished, not them. He was well within his rights to go bonkers.”

It would totally sum up the night at the City Ground if Emery were to face punishment from UEFA for simply questioning how a blatant red card wasn’t given.

Bonkers.