Ex-PGMOL chief assesses validity of Aston Villa's refereeing complaints

Emotions ran high at Aston Villa following their defeat to Manchester United, as the club submitted a request for clarification regarding the referee’s decisions. However, former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett does not believe this will escalate into anything more significant.

Details: The former FIFA referee stated that Aston Villa is indeed entitled to seek clarification from the refereeing body, but pursuing legal action would be taking things too far.

Quote: “They can write an official letter to the Premier League or to PGMOL through the board of directors—those are the lines of communication. Believe it or not, the Aston Villa manager can also voice his concerns to the League Managers Association, which might then take up the case.

There are plenty of communication channels to express dissatisfaction with refereeing. But legal proceedings? I think that’s highly unlikely. When you encounter a situation like this, you don’t want to see it repeated in the future, so the process should be: how can you learn from this? What lessons can be drawn?

We can look at the referee individually, we can review the error, we can consider the laws [of the game], and we can critically evaluate that decision. You can also use this experience in video reviews to discuss it with your referees—referees will make mistakes, they are human,” Hackett told Football Insider.