Premier League issue statement after two controversial moments during Fulham 1-3 Aston Villa
The Premier League released statements for two contentious refereeing incidents during Aston Villa’s 3-1 win away at Fulham.
Unai Emery’s men came from behind to seal an important three points in what was an action-packed and frantic affair at Craven Cottage.
Referee Darren England was involved in several controversial moments throughout as he brandished two red cards and saw a decision to not give Fulham a penalty overturned by VAR.
The first sending off - a straight red for Joachim Andersen - was particularly contentious as the Fulham defender made little contact with Ollie Watkins but was adjudged to deny a goalscoring opportunity. Jaden Philogene was then given his marching orders for Villa late on following two bookable offences.
The other controversial call was the penalty for Fulham in the first half, given for a Matty Cash handball. England waved away the Cottagers’ appeals at first but VAR intervened to reward the spot-kick, suggesting Cash’s arm was in an unnatural position to block Raul Jimenez’s header.
In the end, Emiliano Martinez pulled off a fine save to deny Andreas Pereira but it could’ve been a pivotal moment in the match to put the hosts back ahead.
All of the incidents mentioned certainly caused a stir around Craven Cottage with many a debate held between supporters in attendance. As many of the key moments were disputable, the Premier League has issued two statements to clear up the calls made by the officials.
The first, relating to the penalty, read: “The referee did not award a penalty to Fulham for a potential handball by Cash. The VAR deemed that Cash’s arm was in an unnatural position making himself bigger and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.”
The second, explaining the Andersen red, said: “The referee issued a red card to Andersen for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call.”
Emery, as he usually does, refused to speak about the officials during the post-match press conference. And the head coach ultimately won’t care as Villa claimed a deserved three points to soar up to fourth in the Premier League.