Aston Villa have written to Skilled Sport Match Officers Restricted (PGMOL) to complain about “inexperienced” referee Thomas Bramall being appointed to Sunday’s expensive 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Villa went into the ultimate day of the Premier League season hoping to seal Champions League qualification, requiring a win at Outdated Trafford and for certainly one of their rivals to drop factors.
Newcastle United misplaced 1-0 at dwelling to Everton, that means a draw would have been sufficient for Villa, although they misplaced 2-0 after seeing Emiliano Martinez despatched off late within the first half.
Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen scored for United, with the previous netting simply three minutes after Morgan Rogers noticed a possible opener controversially disallowed.
Rogers took benefit of some poor dealing with from Altay Bayindir to fit into an empty web, however referee Bramall blew for a foul, believing Rogers took the ball out of the goalkeeper’s palms.
Replays confirmed Bayindir by no means had management of the ball, however because the whistle had already gone, the VAR was unable to intervene and the choice stood.
Villa have now written to PGMOL, the physique chargeable for deciding on and assessing officers, to complain about Bramall’s appointment.
“Aston Villa can verify the membership has written to the PGMOL to lift considerations over the choice strategy of match officers following at present’s recreation with Manchester United at Outdated Trafford,” the membership mentioned in a press release.
“With such excessive stakes surrounding at present’s fixture, the membership imagine a extra skilled referee ought to have been appointed.
Aston Villa can verify the membership has written to the PGMOL to lift considerations over the choice strategy of match officers following at present’s recreation with Manchester United at Outdated Trafford.
With such excessive stakes surrounding at present’s fixture, the membership imagine a extra skilled referee… pic.twitter.com/Ma09U4glOQ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) Might 25, 2025
“Of the ten referees to officiate throughout the Premier League at present, Mr. Bramall was the second-least skilled.
“The choice to disallow Morgan Rogers’ objective, which might have given the membership a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining within the match, was a significant contributing issue to the membership not qualifying for the Champions League.
“As per the requirements which were established over the course of the season, a choice to whistle early is clearly inconsistent with present refereeing tips.
“VAR exists to make sure that all these conditions obtain the scrutiny they deserve. Sadly, the expertise was not allowed to serve its function.
“In the end, we acknowledge that the result for us is not going to change, however we imagine that you will need to tackle the choice methodology to make sure that high-stakes matches are handled as such.”
This was Bramall’s first marketing campaign as a Premier League referee. He took cost of 11 video games, issuing 4 crimson playing cards and 36 bookings.
It was solely his second match involving Villa, having beforehand overseen their 3-0 win at Southampton in April.