Referee made a mistake in Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United that VAR could do nothing about - opinion

Today at 11:54 AM

Aston Villa and Manchester United played out a very dull 0-0 draw on Sunday.

The Premier League clash at Villa Park looked set to be an entertaining occasion, after the Villans recorded a 1-0 UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday, while the Red Devils were involved in a 3-3 UEFA Europa League draw against FC Porto.

However, the encounter failed to live up to expectations, with Richard Keys even describing it as the worst Premier League game he’s ever seen.

It also signalled Manchester United’s worst start to a Premier League campaign.

However, the clash between Aston Villa and Manchester United may have been a bit more entertaining, had Rob Jones not made a glaring error.

Rob Jones should have dismissed Marcus Rashford in Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United

Marcus Rashford received a yellow card in the 59th minute after a foul on Matty Cash, which was admittedly a soft booking from Jones.

However, the England international then deliberately tripped Leon Bailey just minutes later after the Jamaica international went past him with a quick stepover, preventing him from delivering a cross.

Jones really ought to have shown Rashford a second yellow card for the offence – which was by no means an innocent challenge – but he instead opted to bring captain Bruno Fernandes over and issue the Manchester United No.10 with a warning, rather than a red card.

Jamie Carragher, who was impressed by Jonny Evans, also felt it was a red card, saying: “He is very lucky. He knows he can’t get the ball. That should be a second yellow and Manchester United should be down to ten men.”

Erik ten Hag realised the 26-year-old was now walking a tightrope, and replaced him with Antony in the 64th minute.

VAR could not intervene to help Aston Villa

Some Aston Villa fans may be wondering why John Brooks could not intervene while working on VAR duty.

The rules state that VAR cannot get involved when it comes to either awarding – or taking away – a second yellow card.

VAR can only have a say on these matters when officials feel a second yellow card for a strong challenge was severe enough to be upgraded to a straight red, of course changing the punishment in that respect from a one-game ban to three games.