Aston Villa had a goal controversially ruled out and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez sent off as they lost at Manchester United to miss out on a Champions League place.
With Newcastle losing 1-0 to Everton, 10-man Villa were on course to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition before Amad Diallo scored a looping header from Bruno Fernandes’ cross-field ball in the 76th minute.
That goal came just moments after Villa thought they had taken the lead when Morgan Rogers put the ball in the net.
But it did not count as the referee judged Rogers had kicked the ball out of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir’s hands – and because he blew his whistle before it went into the net, the video assistant referee was unable to intervene.
A tweet from the Premier League match centre read: “The referee’s call was a free-kick to Manchester United with Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Rogers gained possession.
“The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore the incident was not reviewable by the VAR.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was clearly incensed at the decision, and was furious again when United were awarded a late penalty after Ian Maatsen brought down Diallo, with the departing Christian Eriksen scoring to seal the 2-0 victory.
Defeat means Villa, who had reached the Champions League quarter-finals this season, will be playing in the Europa League next season.
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