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Villa Coach Emery Hits Out at VAR After Europa League Loss to Forest
Emery said VAR made a huge mistake after Elliot Anderson’s tackle on Ollie Watkins went unpunished, even though a later review produced a Forest penalty.
- On Thursday, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery criticized VAR for failing to send off Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson during the Europa League semi-final first leg at the City Ground, which Villa lost 1-0.
- Emery claimed Anderson's first-half challenge on striker Ollie Watkins could have broken the player's ankle, calling the failure to review the incident a "huge, huge mistake" by VAR official Tiago Martins.
- While referee Joao Pinheiro did not send off Anderson, VAR later intervened to award Nottingham Forest a 70th-minute penalty after Lucas Digne handled the ball, which Chris Wood converted for the match's only goal.
- Emery maintained he has supported VAR for 20 years, yet insisted officials must provide an explanation for the decision, describing the non-intervention as "crazy" given the potential severity of the challenge.
- Despite the loss, Emery expressed confidence that Aston Villa can overturn the deficit in next week's second leg, while Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira praised his team's spirit after remaining nine games unbeaten.
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26 Articles
26 Articles
The coach of Aston Villa Unai Emery did not understand the arbitral decision not to sanction a red card Elliot Anderson, author of a very dangerous tab on Ollie Watkins.
·Paris, France
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources26
Leaning Left6Leaning Right4Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Left, 37% Center
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left, 37% of the sources are Center
38% Left
L 38%
C 37%
R 25%
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