Aston Villa will be relieved to have secured a draw against Chelsea on Saturday after the Blues saw their match-winner ruled out by VAR, a decision that has certainly split opinion.
After leading 2-0 at halftime, it was an incomprehensible end to Aston Villa’s duel with Chelsea, as the visitors thought they’d won 3-2 in injury time.
Mauricio Pochettino was furious with VAR’s decision to rule out Axel Disasi’s goal after a foul was spotted in the build-up however, not everyone agrees with the Argentine’s perspective.
READ MORE: Why Unai Emery was ‘deeply unhappy’ with one Aston Villa player against Chelsea
Diego Carlos, who was the player who was fouled by Benoit Badiashile before the goal, shared his viewpoint on the obstruction that led to the goal being disallowed, an opinion expectedly opposing to that of the Chelsea dugout.
In a match-deciding incident, the two clubs will of course have the viewpoint of the scenario that would better suit their side however, one pundit has spoken out on his opinion of the decision as a neutral.
Robbie Earle supports VAR decision to rule out Chelsea’s winner against Aston Villa
After the game, Alan Shearer vented his frustration at the involvement of VAR in that moment, claiming that the failure to not spot the foul in the first instance wasn’t a ‘howler’.
Pundit Robbie Earle had an opposing view to the Premier League’s record goal scorer, speaking in support of Craig Pawson’s decision when discussing the match on The 2 Robbies podcast.
“It was a foul, it was absolutely a foul. There was a huge reaction from the team and the manager after the game.
“That’s a shove in the middle of the back.”
Perhaps the decision would have been less argued if Carlos had theatrically fallen to the floor, making support of Villa in this instance refreshing as the argument of the validity of the use of VAR continues in the Premier League.
Aston Villa must put the result against Chelsea behind them
After taking a 2-0 lead into the changing room at half-time, Unai Emery’s full-time team talk would have been a lot different to his one at the interval, with the Spaniard bound to be frustrated as his team dropped two points at home.
Credit must go to Chelsea for simply outplaying Villa in the second half, with the Blues being denied a full turnaround in injury time thanks to the decision of VAR.
It’s a call that will split opinion, but one that ultimately benefited the Villans, who earned a point after an unusually weak display, keeping their stance in the race for the top four on track.
All of Saturday’s drama will now be put behind Emery’s side, who will have full focus on their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against Olympiacos on Thursday.
