Bailey miffed with refs after unpunished elbows
Published:Tuesday | November 8, 2022 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
ASTON VILLA forward Leon Bailey has joined the voices of those questioning the way the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is used in England after Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez escaped punishment for a double elbow on the Jamaican during the teams’ English Premier League (EPL) game on the weekend.
In the seventh minute, Bailey sped away from the 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 skill throughout the match, and came in for some rough treatment from Martinez, especially. The worst of that treatment came in the 64th minute when the attacker tried to win back possession from the defender deep inside the United half.
During his attempt to get around Martinez, the Argentine seemed to throw his elbow, not once but twice, connecting with Bailey’s abdomen as he shielded a ball out for a goal kick.
The incident left Bailey floored for more than a minute, apparently gasping for breath.
In a social media post, Bailey pointed to his disappointment with match official 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
“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),” Bailey wrote.
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 he nicked possession from 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, the best player 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 read.