Unai Emery slams 'clear' refereeing error in rare VAR rant after Liverpool defeat

Emery believes Villa should have been awarded a penalty during what proved to be a frustrating Premier League loss under the lights at Anfield on Saturday evening.

Villa were denied two spot-kick shouts as Ollie Watkins was grounded by a push from Ibrahima Konate and Pau Torres was dragged to the floor by Conor Bradley. Both incidents were immediately waved away by referee David Coote and VAR then upheld the on-field decisions after brief reviews.

The two penalty calls came when Liverpool had a fragile one-goal lead and the result could have ended very differently if Villa were given an opportunity or two to step up from the spot. Emery rarely ever comments on controversial refereeing but he was particularly astounded by the Pau decision.

“I only watched the Pau Torres action. With VAR, for me it was clearly a penalty because he pulled the shirt of Pau Torres. I know that in Europe this is a penalty, but here in England they want to use VAR, I don’t know exactly where,” Emery said in the post-match press conference.

“In this situation it was clear. I always respect the decisions of referees and I accept it, but for me, when I watched it, with VAR it was a clear penalty. Of course, it was a very important moment in the game because if we could have the chance to shoot the penalty, maybe the match would have been different.

“I accept the result and the referee's decision. I don’t agree and then with the players I am confident we will recover and again find our way for the season,” Emery added.

Villa are one of seven teams yet to receive a penalty this campaign, along with Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.