Unai Emery slams VAR for missing Elliot Anderson tackle - 'He could break his ankle!'

Aston Villa took on Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Europa League semi final on Thursday evening but the game was overshadowed by a controversial incident

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery let rip at VAR after it failed to spot a potential ‘ankle breaking’ challenge from Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson. The two Premier League sides came together at the City Ground on Thursday evening in their Europa League semi final.

Forest ended up winning 1-0 through a Chris Wood penalty. A controversial moment however saw midfielder Anderson avoid a red card for a tackle on Ollie Watkins - a decision that left Emery incensed.

"Fantastic, the referee, fantastic," he said. "But the VAR is so, so bad. It's a clear red card. I watched it and I don't understand why the VAR is not calling the referee because it's so, so clear. It's a huge, huge mistake. VAR is responsible.

"The referee - fantastic, fantastic job, 10 out of 10, he did a fantastic job. I appreciated how he managed the match for 90 minutes.

READ MORE : Moment of madness and VAR intervention gives Nottingham Forest the edge over Aston VillaREAD MORE : VAR intervenes in Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa to award penalty after bizarre incident

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"I watched it back... Wow. Huge. He could break his ankle. VAR, where are you? It is your responsibility; we are professionals, you are professionals, but you are doing very badly, because it was so clear to everybody.

"He could break his ankle. Respect the referee always, but VAR, I don't understand. It's not fair."

The Spanish coach continued his rant in his post-match press conference. Emery added: “It is a huge mistake, a huge mistake, because Ollie Watkins was close to breaking his ankle. It is the VAR’s responsibility and he must give us an explanation about it because it’s crazy watching this action.

“Of course, the referee can’t watch it like me. I watched the action of Anderson with Watkins … one action like that can break his ankle.

“I’m working for 20 years as a coach and sometimes they make mistakes, [there are] always tight decisions, without VAR it was more difficult … I am 100% with VAR but we must manage VAR good and in the right way.

“One action like that doesn’t make sense. It is so, so clear. Where is the doubt? The risk is to the players. Where is VAR? Wow, crazy.”

Villa are back in action this weekend as they welcome Tottenham to Villa Park. They will then turn their attention back to their European exploits, with the second leg against Forest set to come in just under a week’s time.

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