Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 11 May 2026 10:25, UK

Emi Buendia has taken to social media to show what his sock looked like after Aston Villa weren’t awarded a late penalty against Burnley.

Unai Emery‘s side were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at Turf Moor on Sunday, in what was a performance that perhaps pointed towards a slight Europa League hangover.

After going behind just eight minutes into the game, Villa did eventually improve and were largely the dominant side on Sunday, but it wasn’t to be their day.

Goals from Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins were matched by strikes from Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony for Burnley, as Villa’s winless run in the Premier League now stretches to three games.

However, in what was far from the only VAR controversy in the Premier League on Sunday, Villa felt they should’ve been awarded a penalty in the dying minutes of the match.

What did Emi Buendia say on Burnley penalty incident?

Aston Villa’s match with Burnley saw numerous VAR incidents go against the Villans, with Watkins seeing a goal ruled out for offside which was extremely tight.

In the end, it appeared it was chalked off due to around half of Watkins’ left boot being ahead of the last Burnley defender.

That was the first of the big two VAR decisions that went against Villa on Sunday, with the second coming in the 90th minute.

Buendia burst into the penalty area before going down under a challenge from Burnley defender Kyle Walker, who caught the Villa attacking midfielder on the back of the ankle.

Both the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor, and the VAR came to the agreement that no penalty was the right decision, but that’s clearly not how Buendia, nor many connected with Villa, saw it.

Taking to his Instagram account after the game, Buendia shared a handful of images of himself during the game, but one was of the damage done to his sock that Walker caught him on for the penalty incident.

It shows a clear circular rip to Buendia’s sock on the back of his ankle, providing clear evidence that Villa should’ve been awarded a penalty.

The Argentine international captioned the post with a tongue-in-cheek comment, saying: “Play On!”, clearly making reference to the officials’ decision to not point to the spot.

Emery won’t like how Villa are staggering to fifth-placed finish

With just two more Premier League games to play now, Villa are four points ahead of sixth-placed Bournemouth.

As such, the Cherries are still withing catching distance to the Villans, and if that were to happen over the final two matches, Emery’s side will have major egg on their faces.

They may well secure a Champions League spot with a Europa League final win regardless, but Villa absolutely should be doing so anyway through the league given the campaign they’ve had.

With a tough final two against Liverpool and Man City respectively, Villa have made it unnecessarily more difficult for themselves, and Emery can’t let his players take their eyes of the Premier League ball.