Lukas Nmecha’s controversial goal against Aston Villa was upheld by VAR, sparking debate despite a collision with goalkeeper Emi Martinez and a bizarre deflection.
Leeds United took a controversial lead against Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon after Lukas Nmecha scored in the first half following a mix-up in the six-yard box.
According to a report from Birmingham Live, the goal came after a lax clearance from Ezri Konsa rebounded off the opposition striker and past Emi Martinez from close range.
Despite the protests from the Villa players, referee Robert Jones awarded the goal, which was then subjected to a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review by Paul Tierney and his assistant, Ian Hussin.
The on-field decision was ultimately confirmed, and an official explanation from the Premier League Match Centre on X (formerly known as Twitter) stated: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Gudmundsson in an onside position in the build-up.
The VAR also checked the decision of no offside offence against Nmecha – with it deemed that he did not impact Martinez after Stach played the ball. Contact on Martinez prior to the goal was also deemed to not be a foul.”
Speaking on Sky Sports, pundit Chris Sutton weighed in on the contentious moment. He said: “There’s always a debate about these situations and whether goalkeepers are over-protected.
There clearly is contact, but is there sufficient contact? Is he put off enough? There’s also a question mark over whether there’s an offside from the initial free-kick.”
Upon the goal being given, Sutton concluded that it was “maybe the luckiest goal of his career” and noted that “Martinez was deemed to be not strong enough. The perfect start for Leeds.”