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Unai Emery and Ollie Watkins baffled at referee ruling out late Aston Villa goal vs Juventus

Unai Emery and Ollie Watkins were left baffled at the referee ruling out a late Aston Villa goal vs Juventus on Wednesday night.

Morgan Rogers believed he had scored a decisive late goal against Juventus, only for referee Gil Manzano to disallow it, much to the surprise of Unai Emery.

he asserted that most referees would have deemed the contact by defender Diego Carlos permissible, contrary to Manzano’s ruling of a foul.

Rogers was in the right place to jump on a mistake by Michele Di Gregorio, who spilled the ball from a late free-kick taken by Youri Tielemans.

Emery and Watkins both described the decision as “very soft,” expressing his belief that a goal would typically be awarded in 80 percent of similar situations.

Ollie Watkins was also left baffled that the goal had been disallowed, telling TNT Sports: “I think it was soft. Maybe in the Premier League, it’s a goal. But in Europe, the goalkeepers are protected a lot. It’s one of them.

“I thought we scored. But to be fair, this game had a 0-0 written all over it. Obviously, I have to be careful talking about the referee, but it’s different in this competition. We are used to it now. Sometimes it goes against you and sometimes it goes in your favour.”

“It’s a positive result. The fans want to see a lot of goals and we do ourselves too, but the most important thing was that we didn’t lose tonight. Juventus are a massive team and they played well. We kept them out and now we move onto the weekend.”

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery speaking to TNT Sports: “I am very happy because we won a point. We played a very competitive match. We were dominating the match to try to get three points.

“The last action is clear. It’s the interpretation of the referee. We know in England, it’s 80% not a foul, but in Europe, maybe not. For me it was harsh. In England, I know it’s not a foul usually, because it was a very soft contact. But in Europe, it could be foul.

“I think the referee, in the beginning, he was giving it as goal. We have to accept his decision.”

On the point earned: “We played a serious match. We played trying to avoid the mistakes we made from the last matches. We were playing better and I think we more or less deserved to win the match than them.”

On Juventus’ performance: “We analysed their play, they are building a team and are in the process. They are very competitive and very difficult to beat. They’ve only lost one match.

“But we wanted to play too. We were dominating them. We were getting into their box better and we had chances to score. They had the chance in the second half with that Emiliano Martinez save. I think it was very tight match for both teams. But I’m happy with the overall result. Three wins, one draw and one defeat is very good. We still have the possibility to get into the top eight.”

To the club website, Emery said: “It was fantastic.

“We needed one match like this, playing seriously with a clean sheet, defending strong, being compact and then trying to impose and dominate some areas of the match.

“We didn’t create a lot of chances but we didn’t concede a lot of chances. We were closer to scoring and in the second half we were progressively getting better.

“We needed one save from Emiliano, a fantastic save, but even in the last action, in England it’s a goal, in Europe it’s not. That’s the decision of the referee.

“The easier interpretation for the referee is a foul, but in England we know when the opponent is not using their hands to push the goalkeeper or to touch him clearly, usually it’s fair. We have to accept it.

“We have ten points in the Champions League and we were enjoying it in Villa Park. We played a very serious match, a very competitive match against Juventus, respecting them.

“I think we have to carry on enjoying this competition.”

He added: “We are being very serious and competing very well.

“We only conceded one goal in five matches. We have three wins and ten points. We have three matches to play and to enjoy.

“We have possibilities and opportunities coming if we are winning to be a contender for the top eight positions.

“The first objective is to get to the next round.”

Here’s how fans reacted with Unai Emery and Ollie Watkins baffled at referee ruling out a late Aston Villa goal vs Juventus…

@racingblogger: All jokes aside that’s a fucking terrible decision.

@TheMailmanUk: Shafted. The keeper knew he made a mistake and rolled around on the floor to make the referee feel sorry for him. Referee standard has really dropped lately

@ASensibleView: There is no foul here, just poor goalkeeping. Skip to 1:00 and it is crystal clear that Carlos makes an honest attempt to win the header. For those saying that this is a foul, please point to where a foul is committed; I’m baffled. It’s robbed Villa of another top European scalp.

@ChrisRamsey89: Wolves Fan here and I think it was a Fantastic call from the ref

@elliottavfc: Worst decision I’ve seen in my lifetime. No bias attached, that is just never a foul… referee couldn’t wait to disallow that goal, he needs seriously looking into 👎 #AVFC

@0neAstonVilla: As long as poor decisions like this are made suspicion around VAR will continue, that was never a foul, the keeper misjudged it and play acted to get it overturned, a goal all day long.

@Rfc1872I: It’s a foul. Keepers overprotected but it is a foul.

@thomasjuventino: Any contact with the goalkeeper that hinders their ability to reach the ball is considered a foul – simple

@NC85AV: the keepers reaction is why that goal is disallowed, absolutely no way thats a foul, disgraceful decision, ref was crap all game aswell

@__samsmithh: Absolutely shocking decision

@FHG10VTID: Ridiculous. Clear goal

@pavelkennedy: That’s a foul all day, one of few actual fouls you see on goalkeepers. Would have been class for Villa but a point is still a decent result.

@BenLightfoot3: Absolutely shocking decision. Don’t understand how a foul can be given, just an attacker and a keeper going for the same ball in the air. Keeper goes down way to easily

@jendog17: All keepers take note! All you have to do is go for the ball and drop it and the goal won’t stand

@x_Jacb: Disgusting call, ref was on Juve’s side the whole game. This league is a joke

@Chezney94677504: Never a foul. Player was always looking at the ball. Never looked at the keeper once. Keeper fumbled it big time. Shocking from the officials

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