While Aston Villa was defeated by Nottingham Forest (0-1) in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday night, Unai Emery was not impressed by the match officiating.
Following the Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday night in Portugal and England, Braga and Nottingham Forest are in favorable positions. Braga defeated the Germans from Freiburg (2-1) with goals at the beginning and end of the match. Turkish midfielder Demir Ege Tiknaz opened the scoring in the 8th minute for the team led by Joao Moutinho (39 years old), the former Monaco player, and Mario Dorgeles secured the win for the Portuguese in stoppage time (90th+2) after the equalizer by Italian Vincenzo Grifo (16th).
Emery demands a penalty
On the other hand, Forest can believe in a new European final, 46 years after their second Champions League title (1980, 1-0 against Hamburg). At home, the current 16th in the Premier League got the better of the 5th in the English Championship, Aston Villa (1-0). The only goal of the match was scored by Chris Wood from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. Lucas Digne, who caused the handball in the penalty area for Forest, was in the starting lineup on the left side of the Villan’s defense and played 79 minutes before being replaced by Douglas Luiz.
Unai Emery made headlines after the match as the visiting coach was not at all happy with the VAR. According to the Spanish coach, Aston Villa should have also been awarded a clear penalty in the 32nd minute for a challenge by Elliot Anderson on Ollie Watkins in the penalty area. “The VAR made a huge, a huge mistake. I’ve watched it again, and on that, that, that… he could have broken his ankle! VAR, where are you? You’re doing a very bad job. The referee cannot see it like I did. An action like that can break his ankle. VAR only makes sense if they are accurate. What is your opinion? Wow!” vented the former PSG coach to the journalists.
“Where is the VAR?”
Emery didn’t stop there, adding: “In football, I have been working as a coach for 20 years. Sometimes decisions are tight. I am 100% with VAR, but we have to manage it correctly and in the right way. In an action like that, where is the VAR? It has responsibilities and should give us an explanation. It’s crazy!” At Villa Park, the Villans will try to turn things around next Thursday (9:00 pm) in Birmingham.
