Aston Villa’s poor start to the Premier League season continued earlier today, September 5, as they were held to a goalless draw by newly promoted Hull City.
Unai Emery’s side remain without a win after three matches, having already suffered defeats against Brighton and Arsenal. The result leaves Villa 17th with one point.
Nicolas Jackson came close to putting Villa ahead inside two minutes when he headed Ian Maatsen’s cross narrowly wide. Ross Barkley also missed the target from inside the box in the 25th minute.
Villa appealed for a penalty just before half-time after Jackson went down while attempting to reach George Hemmings’ cross following contact from Nobel Mendy. Referee Michael Oliver rejected the appeal, and VAR did not intervene.
John McGinn then missed a clear opportunity early in the second half after Jackson picked out the Villa captain in front of goal.
Hull came closest to winning the match in the 65th minute when Mohamed Belloumi’s curling effort beat goalkeeper Zion Suzuki but struck the crossbar. Suzuki later denied Mohamed-Ali Cho with a fine save in the 89th minute to preserve Villa’s point.
Hull move up to second with seven points from their first three games, while Villa continue to wait for their first victory of the season.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner criticised VAR after his side were held to a 0-0 draw by Tottenham at the City Ground.
Forest thought they had taken the lead in the 67th minute when Neco Williams bundled the ball into the net following a defensive scramble. Referee Craig Pawson initially awarded the goal, but VAR Peter Bankes intervened and ruled that Williams had handled the ball before scoring.
Glasner questioned whether there was enough evidence to overturn the referee’s original decision.
“I watched five or six different angles and, to be fair, from one angle you can guess that the ball touched the arm because the shirt moves a little bit, but it’s not clear if it’s the ball or [Sandro] Tonali on the goal line,” said Glasner.
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“I think the VAR can’t intervene when he is guessing. It was not clear.
“We had a briefing before the season that the threshold for VAR intervention this year should be very high, which is why this is a wrong intervention.
“If it’s not 100% clear, stick to the on-field decisions. This is the inconsistency today.
“I told the referee after the game that I felt the goal should have stood.”
The Premier League’s official match centre explained that VAR determined Williams had handled the ball immediately before scoring, meaning the goal had to be disallowed.
Williams rejected the decision and insisted he had not handled the ball.
“It’s a goal,” the Forest full-back told Sky Sports.
“VAR is there when there is a clear error, and for me that is not clear. I’ve seen the images and the replays, and at not one moment did I think I handballed it. I headed it in between my arms.
“I knew straight away I’d headed it down between my arms. At a loss at that one. Disappointing.”
