Unai Emery: Villa boss furious with VAR for not sending off Elliot Anderson

We have become accustomed to a higher threshold for serious foul play in the Premier League.

We often hear an explanation for the contact as ‘glancing’ or ‘lack of power’.

This is not the case at UEFA, whose referees are always told to apply strict interpretation to any challenge that could endanger the safety of the opponent.

There are three reasons why the expected result here is a red card.

Watkins was shot first over the trunk. UEFA told its referees that this was a trigger for possible serious foul play.

Strength and intensity must still be taken into account, and two factors underline this.

Anderson was entering the fray with some speed. This indicates a lower level of control than if he were stepping into the challenge, for example. It is this feature that ticks the box for the red card.

Watkins’ contact also occurred with a straight leg, indicating a greater force effect on the opponent compared to when the leg was bent.

Winning the ball does not invalidate how the player tackled.

Since the referee did not even call a foul, he cannot make an appropriate explanation for the incident.

This puts the onus solely on VAR to consider this as serious foul play. He decided against it.

Anderson escaped with impunity as VAR failed to recommend a yellow card.