Aston Villa get verdict from Man Utd ally on controversial disallowed goal

Roy Keane has spoken out on Aston Villa's controversial disallowed goal against Man Utd, stating that "human error is part of the game" following a refereeing blunder that significantly impacted their chase for Champions League qualification. The visitors were left aggrieved after a pivotal goal, to put them 1-0 ahead, was controversially disallowed at Old Trafford.

Villa's Champions League aspirations took a major hit, with the match level and Everton ahead at Newcastle. Things looked up when Morgan Rogers believed he had seized upon goalkeeper Altay Bayindir's fumble to score, but referee Thomas Brammall's premature whistle ruled out the potential opener.

Despite replays showing Rogers was well within his means to take the ball of Bayindir, a VAR intervention was not possible due to Brammall already blowing his whistle before the ball crossed the line. Villa would go on to lose the game.

While sympathising with Villa's frustration, Keane insists that even VAR cannot eradicate every mistake from the sport. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: "You talk about VAR or whatever but human error does come into it, its part of football and you feel for the officials because if he lets it run and it hits the back of the net we can all clearly see it wasn't a foul.

"So a huge moment for Aston villa, you saw the manager's reaction, they'll be suffering for that but it is part of the game with human error. We were hoping VAR would cut all that out, but he's blown too early."

Villa have a lodged a complaint to the PGMOL, arguing that 'a more experienced referee should have been appointed' for such a high-stakes match as they come to terms with qualifying for next season's Europa League instead of the Champions League.

Emery admitted his frustration with the official post-match, stating: "Yes, I told him but he knows it."

When asked if the referee acknowledged his error, Emery was tight-lipped: "The next question?" Further pressed on whether the VAR rules need to be altered, Emery refused to comment: "I don't want to speak about VAR now."

Damian Vidagany, Villa's director of football operations, expressed his dissatisfaction: "The complaint is not about the decision. The complaint is about the selection of the referees. One of the most inexperienced referees for one of the most difficult matches of the season, involving another four or five teams.

"The decision is clear. It's a mistake. The referee apologised for the mistake. We can do nothing. The problem is why the experienced international referees were not here today."