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Bailey roughed up in EPL clash - ‘Sometimes I don’t understand why we got VAR’
November 08, 2022
Aston Villa forward Leon Bailey has joined the voices of those questioning the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system after Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez escaped punishment for using his elbow on the Jamaican during an English Premier League (EPL) game on Sunday.
In the seventh minute, Bailey sped away from the Manchester United central defender to fire Villa into the lead.
The wily forward also taunted and frustrated Martinez and the United defence with his pace and skills throughout the match, and came in for some rough treatment from Martinez especially, the worst of which came in the 64th minute when the attacker tried to win back possession from the defender deep in the United half.
During his attempt to get around Bailey, the Argentine threw his elbow in the stomach of Bailey as he shielded the ball out for a goal-kick.
The incident left Bailey stretched out on the floor for more than a minute, apparently gasping for breath. The Jamaican, in a social media post, pointed to his disappointment with match referee Anthony Taylor as well as VAR officials.
"Very disappointed in the referees today. I couldn't breathe for a second after getting elbowed twice in my rib," he commented on Instagram
"The linesman went on to say I shouldn't be saying anything because I was doing just the same thing to Martinez. Sometimes I don't understand why we got VAR. SMH (shake my head)," the post said.
Meanwhile, the 25 year-old continued his good form in recent weeks, getting the Unai Emery era off to a bright start with his early strike.
He was again involved when a nicked possession off Martinez for Jacob Ramsey, who was fouled just outside the box.
Lucas Digne fired home the resulting free kick to put Villa 2-0 up after 11 minutes.
Aston Villa won the game 3-1.
Two matches before, Bailey also had another man-of-the-match performance with a goal and two assists as Villa beat Brentford 4-0, and, after Sunday's display, some Villa fans are labelling the Jamaican as the best player currently at the club.
"Best player in this Villa team by far," said one fan commenting on his Man-of-the-Match award.
"Birmingham is being run by two Jamaicans called Leon, pretty crazy really," said another.
One fan, however, thinks the player is not getting the credit he deserves.
"Last time when Villa defeated Brentford 4-0 you contributed towards all four goals. Yet no one talked about you being the most impactful player in terms of goal contribution that day. But some fans are over bias when a player is not England-born," the post wrote.
