Exclusive: Emi Martinez red card in doubt after Aston Villa’s loss at Man United
Keith Hackett has serious doubts over the decision to send Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez off against Man United.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that referee Thomas Bramall’s positioning left a lot to be desired.
With Newcastle losing against Everton on the final day of the season, Villa knew a point would be enough to secure them a place in next year’s edition of the Champions League.
Facing off against a beleaguered United side, fresh off a Europa League final defeat to Tottenham, it seemed Unai Emery’s side would be one of six English sides in the competition next season.
That was until a red card for Martinez set off a chain reaction that saw Aston Villa slump to a 2-0 defeat against the Red Devils.
Whilst the focus has been on Bramall’s decision to disallow a goal from Morgan Rogers before the ball had hit the back of the net, therefore stopping VAR from intervening, Hackett spotted another major error made by the referee.
Matty Cash fouled in build-up to Emi Martinez red card
On the stroke of half-time, Cash looked to play a pass back towards his goalkeeper.
But following a rough intervention from Mason Mount that involved shoving the Polish defender to the ground, the ball failed to reach its intended target.
Instead, Rasmus Hojlund stole ahead, knocking the ball past the Argentine shot-stopper, who reacted by giving the Dane a shove of his own and earning a straight red card.
Whilst the red card challenge itself looked cut and dry on first viewing, replays show Pau Torres may have been in a position to cover for his goalkeeper.
But Hackett took issue with the foul on Cash, which he believes was overlooked by Bramall due to the referee’s positioning.
Keith Hackett analyses Matty Cash foul before Emi Martinez red card
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former PGMOL chief Hackett broke down Bramall’s decision to send off Martinez, citing Mount’s foul on Cash and Torres’ positioning as reasons to doubt the red card.
He said: “There’s a foul in the build-up for sure, he’s late, he’s taken the player out.
“One of the things that I find in officiating is the fact that here you would expect the assistant to give some help in that situation, but he doesn’t.
“The referee is looking down the line rather than naturally holding his gaze across the position and he’s in a poor position again [Hackett criticised Bramall’s positioning for Morgan Rogers’ disallowed goal previously].
“There’s no doubt that Martinez wipes him out, but part of the criteria is direction of play.
| Match stats | Man United | Aston Villa |
| Possession | 67% | 33% |
| Shots (on target) | 26 (10) | 6 (1) |
| Expected goals | 2.97 xG | 0.39 xG |
| Big chances (missed) | 3 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Corners | 4 | 3 |
“For me, it’s the right call [sending off Martinez for the foul], but take away the goalkeeper when he makes that goal and you’ve got on the left-hand side a defender [Pau Torres], would that defender have got back to make a challenge? That’s the other judgment to be made: is there a covering defender that could apply?
“There are two points here: that free kick that was missed in the build-up, and was that covering defender in control?
“I’m not gonna doubt the decision of the referee, but there is that covering defender.”