So, what do the Football Association laws say?
Law 5 states: “The referee may be assisted by a video assistant referee only in the event of a ‘clear and obvious error’ or ‘serious missed incident’ in relation to: goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card (not second caution), mistaken identity when the referee cautions or sends off the wrong player of the offending team.”
A message on social media from the Premier League match centre read: “The referee’s call was a free-kick to Manchester United with Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Rogers gained possession.
“The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore the incident was not reviewable by the VAR.”
Villa captain John McGinn, speaking to TNT Sports, admitted United deserved to win but said the decision to not give the goal was “incredible”.
He added: “Everyone wanted the correct decisions when the VAR was implemented. You watch rugby… even if the referee has awarded a try and it’s wrong, it’s overturned.
“It’s so, so hard to take, especially when the impact it has on us – as a club and a team – is so big. If you were 1-0 up at that point and all you need is a point to get to the Champions League, it’s costly.
“The referee didn’t really know what to say. He is a young referee who has progressed very quickly. Maybe we could look at having more experienced referees.”
