Unai Emery insists there was ‘too much VAR’ in Aston Villa’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United, as he hits out at the decision to disallow Leon Bailey’s second-half strike
- VAR looked at six separate incidents during Friday's match at Villa Park
- Unai Emery was unhappy that Leon Bailey's goal was disallowed in the second half
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Unai Emery insisted VAR was 'too much' after six separate checks in the match against Sheffield United, with his Villa side missing the chance to top the Premier League for the first time since 2011.
'There was too much VAR tonight. I accept the VAR, but it was too much. It wasn't necessary for the goal. Normally we can accept this goal,” Emery said after Leon Bailey's goal was disallowed due to an earlier foul by Jacob Ramsey on Wes Foderingham.
Villa rescued a point late on thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo's header after it looked like former Villa striker Cameron Archer had lifted the Blades to their first away win of the season.
'It was a very good point in the end. I have to accept the draw,β Emery said. “We are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it,” the Spaniard added.
Meanwhile, Chris Wilder admitted he is a 'traditionalist' and refused to get involved in the VAR debate as his side fell from the bottom of the table.
Unai Emery felt VAR was 'too much' involved in Aston Villa's draw against Sheffield United
Leon Bailey thought he had given Villa the lead at Villa Park in the second half
However, the goal was disallowed for a foul in the build-up, a decision Emery disagreed with
βI'm not even going to talk about it because my head is bursting with the amount of VAR decisions,β said the Sheffield United manager. βOnce you're emotionally and tactically involved in a game, you can't look back on so many decisions and say 'what if'.
But Wilder insisted he was proud of his side as they became the first team to stop Villa from winning at home since February.
'Everyone in the world expected a home win. We've had a fantastic run against a team that has beaten other sides away, so we can be pleased with our efforts.
βWe're going to have to show character all the time because we're going to have to compete against it all the time,β said Wilder, defending his tactics that saw the Blades hold just 22 percent of the ball.
βIt's not anti-football, it's up to the opposition and a meticulous and fantastic European manager to bring us down,β Wilder added.