Morgan Rogers’ Disallowed Goal Shocks Aston Villa’s Champions League Hopes

The Villa player snatched the ball from Man United keeper Altay Bayindir, who seemed to mishandle it while under no duress in his penalty area.

While social media and the match commentators expressed confusion over the ruling, according to the latest rules of the game, referee Thomas Bramall made the RIGHT DECISION. The official rules state:

A goalkeeper is deemed to be in control of the ball when:

the ball is within their hands or between the hand and any surface
(e.g., ground or body) or by making contact with any part of their hands or arms, but not if the ball rebounds from them or after making a save.

The critical phrase here indicates “contact with any part of the hands or arms.” Bayindir had not secured the ball because he was in the process of collecting it, and thus sufficient control was not established in the conventional sense.

This rule aims to safeguard goalkeepers, as they can be exposed to injury while retrieving loose balls. Many goalkeepers (including this writer!) have faced injuries when an aggressive striker kicks their hand during play.

Why wasn’t VAR able to reverse the decision on Morgan Rogers’ disallowed goal?

The VAR system could not intervene since the whistle was blown right away, halting the game.

Bramall had stopped play as soon as Rogers extracted the ball from Bayindir’s hands, and before he could take a shot on goal.

The referee evidently thought that Bayindir had control of the ball, hence deemed Rogers’ action a foul. However, replays indicated that the goalkeeper was not in control, suggesting the referee’s ruling was erroneous.

Since the foul was called prior to the goal being registered, VAR couldn’t step in to change the ruling. Had the play continued and the goal been scored first, VAR could have reversed the decision.

This illustrates why assistant referees are encouraged to hold off on certain offside calls, allowing play to progress. If the decision is incorrect and a goal occurs, it can be adjusted. In this scenario, the premature whistle by Bramall meant that VAR had no authority to overturn the foul call.

Impacts of the decision on Aston Villa’s Champions League aspirations

This referee’s ruling had significant consequences for the final standings in the Premier League.

With Newcastle losing to Everton, Aston Villa briefly held a higher position in the table, just above the Magpies for the last Champions League spot.

United had dominated the match against Villa, particularly after Emiliano Martinez was sent off just before halftime for fouling Rasmus Hojland, who was through on goal.

A goal against the match’s flow would have given Villa an advantage and brought them closer to a top-five finish, but the whistle had sounded, and VAR was unable to intervene.

Scoring would have been crucial, putting Villa three points ahead of Newcastle. Instead, they found themselves only one point ahead and soon fell behind as Amad Diallo netted the opener for Man United. This resulted in Villa being tied on points with Newcastle, ultimately placing them below due to goal difference.

Ultimately, Villa was defeated 2-0, with Cristian Eriksen converting a penalty in the 87th minute. Although Newcastle also lost to Everton, they finished above Villa by virtue of a better goal record.

While the scoreline at the end reiterated the result, Villa will undoubtedly feel that the referee’s call altered the match’s narrative and had a significant impact on the race for the Champions League.