Another rigged ref who might just as well been wearing a Villa shirt yesterday. How many cards did he give us when Villa players who did the same or even worse got away scot-free. Prem bias is real especially towards non-established newly promoted clubs. Forest had the same in their first season up - remember their Twitter saga - Ashton may have to give the PGMOL a reminder again!

I can understand a ref perhaps missing the contact with the ball. I missed it but was 100m away. What everyone could see including most Villa fans, was that without contact with the ball it would still only be a free kick. And what about the Villa back pass in the first minute. I was dead in line with it and it was clearly and deliberately played into the keeper’s hands. He didn’t miss hit the ball in any way. Big team bias and the ref bottled it. Villa fans couldn’t believe it.

It's easy to say these things after the game - and great that a former senior official is saying them - but it doesn't help us unless the PGMOL and the PL take definitive action. The reality is these decisions have cost us significantly this season to the point that if we don't survive, it could be down to these errors. Chaplin's 'penalty' that wasn't given against Leicester, that would have been 3 points, and Philips wouldn't have been sent off, affecting his performances. The decision not to send off Pedro, there's a chance we might not have lost to ten men of Brighton. That's five points just on those two games alone, and is huge in the relegation battle.

Hackett gave one of the worst referee performances I’ve ever seen when we played the scum in the 85 semi final at carrow road now he is calling out refs for bad decisions .

If it had been a high profile player say from Liverpool, Man city etc it wouldn't even had been a yellow card. Teams at the top get preferential treatment from referees in the corrupt Premier league im afraid. I will be disappointed if we get relegated but much prefer to watch championship football without this Sky circus who virtually run the league.

@dowsie3

You’re not bitter though??!!

Yeh first one was never a yellow. Even if you take the (extreme IMO) view that the ball-touch didn't divert it enough to prevent the subsequent contact being a foul, it's inarguable that the ball was diverted sufficiently to disrupt Villa's break. Morgan Rogers would have had to stop, change direction, and retrieve the ball that had been diverted. Break would not have carried the same threat. Hence cannot be more than a free-kick. Cannot be a yellow. Axel didn't go to ground.

In that circumstance, when VAR knows, because everyone who's has seen the replay knows it wasn't a yellow, then at the point of the dismissal decision (which I think was a legitimate yellow), the first yellow must be retracted IMO. VAR was intended to prevent blatant, game-changing injustices: goals, penalties, and dismissals. It currently cannot intervene for two yellows, the rationale being: reviewing every booking would disrupt the flow of the game.

Two possible solutions:
1. After he awards the second yellow, VAR can call the ref over to review the first booking _only_.
2. Captains have limited referrals for whatever they want. Say one or two per half. If they waste them, and there's a Maradona hand-of-god, then tough titties.

#2 is more revolutionary, but I see no reason #1 can't be introduced. There's almost always plenty of time after an unjust first booking for VAR to be ready to _instantly_ trigger the ref-review by the time of a second yellow. So unlike other VAR interventions, this would not delay the game. The only time it would is when someone picks up two yellows in quick succession, then VAR would have to stop the game to consult footage of the first booking, but this will be for a tiny minority of second-yellow dismissals. Since it would be very unlikely to disrupt the flow of the game, I think this is a valid rule change. It would prevent game-ruining injustices like yesterday, at low game-spectacle cost.

This league and the Refs are corrupt as hell. We stand little chance against it.

There is without doubt something inherently wrong with officialdom in the Premier League. When the same errors seem to affect the less established clubs more so than the established, it causes concern and accusations as to whether these mistakes are deliberate, or is merely incompetence. Even after replays, ( the Chaplin incident v Leicester) which clearly shows the referee and the VAR team making a monumental blunder, even the most unknowledgeable watcher could clearly see that, that was an illegal challenge. To be blunt, it was more akin to a physical assault. So why was it ignored by the referee and VAR team? It was a decision that fully merited the criticism that it received, yet what was actually done about it?
We’ll never know, because the match officials are shrouded with so much protection, that even managers are reluctant to criticise them.
Everyone makes mistakes, yet if for instance, an un- tethered, unsupervised horse runs free, it is liable to cause serious damage. That’s why, in my opinion, there needs to be a system set up to analyse controversial decisions made by match officials. If the official/s are found to have acted in a way of, shall we say, incompetence, then what about imposing a match ban on them? Or, if as serious as the aforementioned incident involving Chaplin, a ban and a fine.
Who knows, this may encourage more professionalism amongst match officials, and make them more, shall we say, competent.

It wasn’t a yellow card - the only thing I can offer in the refs defence is that when he booked AT he made a ‘two’ gesture with his hand which might well indicate that AT had committed two fouls earlier - maybe the yellow card was for continuous foul play rather than for that particular one.

I hear all that has been said here about the quality of the refereeing.
Personally I woul like to see more done about players that are built like brick out houses that fall over at the slightest brush.

Having said all that. I dare say most of us would have taken a draw at the start of the match.

grow_our_own - I agree 100%, the PL and PGMOL need to look at the rules after this season and do something because its ruining the competitiveness of the league.
Unlike some, I doubt it is an actual conspiracy, but there must be a psychological mechanism in play where refs just act more leniently towards established teams, some kind of sub-conscious belief that they are better than the minnows who have just been promoted. Your suggestions are both good ideas that would just level the playing field a bit so that the matches are not tilted so much in favour of the established teams.

@freddysteady it will be 40 years next month and yes I’m still bitter hurt more then any game I’ve been to and that includes f a cup semis play off semis

Appeal?

Yellow cards can’t be appealed.

Yet another blatantly obvious example of corrupt officiating against the lower team. The more times I see this the more convinced I am that the villa drama queen wasn't even touched. I maybe wrong but let's face it so are the officials and they get paid for it

So many decisions have gone against us: Clarke Pen vs Everton, Chaplin Pen and Phillips red vs Leicester, Pedro potential red vs Brighton, plus plenty more and numerous niggly fouls we haven't been given. That, plus the injuries and the pretty unfortunate situation with Muric (his confidence clearly shot to bits and the fact he has made so many mistakes), it's kind of a miracle we are only two points from safety!! If our luck turns from now on in and Palmer is as good as would appear from yesterday... then we have a great chance!!!

Never a yellow first but don't then go pick up a second yellow! Ridiculous system that yellows can't be appealed. Those sprouting conspiracy theories just embracing the club. Sometimes we prosper Sometimes we don't from rubbish officiating but don't make out there is a big sky conspiracy against us.

Howard Webb needs to publicly draw attention to these ‘gross’ mistakes, make his Refrees with humility face the music,accept the ‘ blame’ AND commit to learn quickly and get it ‘right’ !
This Ref .like many others, is supposedly at the top of the tree : how come he lost his sense of perspective ??
COYB

What could have happened was for VAR to speak to the Ref after the first yellow and say, that was unwarranted, give him the benefit of the doubt going forward.
Perhaps a conversation at half-time would have achieved that but of course he went in the 40th minute.

In yesterday’s Liverpool v Wolves game Konate of Liverpool received a yellow for a shirt tug then a few minutes later committed a normally bootable foul on same player yet gets away with it. Another example of leniency towards the ‘big’ clubs v the rest. So he then gets subbed off to prevent chance of a future yellow, Liverpool continue with 11 players and go on to win.
A welcome loss for Wolves as far as we are concerned but another obvious injustice by our woeful officials

I would Appeal that Red - the First Yellow was Totally Wrong !
The Second Yellow - couldn’t be Disputed.

I would hope that Ipswich town request Jones to not officiate any more Ipswich games.the first supposed foul by tuzame,that got him a yellow,he clearly got the ball.kieran McKenna was right ,when he said decisions like this only happen to small clubs.how many times ,have we seen a player on a yellow,commiting another foul,ánd referee ignoring it,when he should have been sent off?nearly every week with a top club

Everytime i see a player go down my instant reaction is that its probably a 'dive'
The rules are killing the art of defending and the games in terms of entertainment!
Everton v liverpool was a great example of an entertainimg game if you let tackles happen

There was also Cunha's assault on Walton, when we played Wolves. That would have been a red in rugby, let alone football.