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Villa chiefs slam decision, issue rallying call after appeal rejected

Sumeet Paul
Aston Villa have confirmed that the club’s appeal to overturn Jhon Duran’s suspension has been rejected, and the reaction has been fiery from club officials.

Duran was sent off just after the half-hour mark in our defeat to Newcastle Utd on Boxing Day, but there was a strong consensus amongst pundits and supporters alike that the decision was harsh.

READ MORE: Five key talking points as 10-man Villa fall to defeat vs Newcastle

The Villa striker appeared to stand on Newcastle defender Fabian Schar after a coming together, but given the speed at which he was running coupled with his ankle twisting as he lost balance, it looked completely unintentional and if anything, he was trying to make a concerted effort to avoid landing on his rival.

However, the decision was swiftly made to send him off, with Unai Emery particularly angered by the lack of time and calmness shown by the officials and the lack of influence of VAR in the situation. Nevertheless, it was felt that an appeal would be launched and the right decision would eventually be reached, albeit after proving to be costly in the game already.

As confirmed by Villa though in their official statement, our appeal against Duran’s dismissal has been rejected, and the Colombian international will now have to serve a three-match suspension.

It’s fair to say that the decision didn’t go down well within the club, as both President of Football Operations, Monchi, and Director of Football Operations, Damian Vidagany, both hit out at the decision-makers on social media, having failed to rectify their mistake and ultimately doubled down on what many would argue was the wrong decision.

Based on the tone used from both, there is obviously a great deal of frustration and disappointment within the club as we ultimately feel hard done by, but importantly, that’s combined with a clear rallying call and message to all concerned at Villa to almost galvanise everyone amid the injustice that we feel we’re facing.

Emery highlighted a big penalty decision at Nottingham Forest that didn’t go our way earlier this month as another example, as he insisted that VAR must be utilised more effectively.

Losing Duran for three games will be a blow given his form this season, but hopefully the messages below from Monchi and Vidagany have the desired effect, and it results in a fiery atmosphere at Villa Park on Monday night and an improved performance from the team.

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