‘Ollie Watkins not offside’ as pundit explodes at Aston Villa VAR controversy
Morgan Rogers should not have had his equaliser for Aston Villa ruled out by VAR during the 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, Jamie O’Hara has claimed.
Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring after 29 minutes at Selhurst Park, once again haunting the Villans as he continued his record against Unai Emery’s side on 25 February.
Rogers thought he had fired his side back into the game, finishing off after good work from Ollie Watkins, but the goal was brought back for an offside decision following a lengthy VAR check for offside.
The Villa striker, who Arsenal have been so interested in acquiring, was adjudged to be just millimetres offside before squaring the ball to his teammate, though fans are not convinced at all.
Jamie O’Hara refuses to accept Aston Villa offside decision
Reacting to the VAR decision, O’Hara wrote via X [25 February}: “Watkins ain’t offside for me. How do you even know that the ball has left Roger’s foot? VAR is killing the game so badly, just let them play.”
The use of VAR has often been subjected to abuse this season, with Keith Hackett only last weekend labelling the decision to overturn the Everton penalty on Ashley Young as “farcical”.
While it was a frustrating moment, the Villa duo did get their own back in the second half, teaming up to score the long-awaited equaliser just seven minutes into the second half.
Unai Emery has every right to fume over VAR controversy
VAR was brought into the game to judge on “clear and obvious” incidents, and after taking an incredibly long time to judge Watkins as offside, this moment was far from it.
Villa are in the backend of an extremely important season, with qualifying for next season’s Champions League on the line while also trying to advance as far as possible in the competition this term.
| Aston Villa fixtures | Competition |
| Cardiff City (H) | FA Cup |
| Club Brugge (A) | Champions League |
| Brentford (A) | Premier League |
| Club Brugge (H) | Champions League |
With an upcoming clash against Cardiff City in the FA Cup also on the horizon, there is a real chance for Villa to claim silverware while battling in multiple competitions, and Unai Emery will be desperate for success.
His team were once again pegged back, this time by Jean-Philippe Mateta, which might not have been so damaging had Villa’s first equaliser stood before suffering a setback.
Sarr then finished off the game with 20 minutes left to play, bagging his brace before Eddie Nketiah scored the fourth and final, keeping all three points at Selhurst Park.