West Brom star Chris Brunt was sent off in the Baggies’ defeat to Aston Villa but there has been a lot of talk on an incident prior to that.
Aston Villa moved a step closer to returning to the Premier League after a dramatic victory over West Brom on penalties in the second leg of the semifinal of the playoffs.
Craig Dawson’s first-half goal levelled the score on aggregate which took the game to extra time and then to penalties but mistakes from Holgate and Hegazi from the spot cost the Baggies a place at Wembley. Chris Brunt’s red card in the second half completely shifted the momentum to Villa’s side but the Northern Irishman should have been sent off in the first half.
Brunt was caught stepping on John McGinn’s arm at the end of the first half and the referees completely ignored it. Replays suggested that the West Brom man was lucky to have stayed on but former Hull City star Liam Rosenior saw it differently.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game (14/05, 20:55), Rosenior claimed that he had been in such situations and defended Brunt’s actions by saying that the replays make it look worse and that it was just an accident.
Rosenior said: “I’m not so sure. I think it’s one of those that in slow motion looks worse than it is. I’ve been in those situations. As he puts his foot up, it looks awful, but McGinn’s knee actually knocks Brunt’s leg as he’s putting his foot down. As he steps over him his knee moves him. I don’t think he means that. I hope he doesn’t.”
Irrespective of what happens to Brunt in terms of retrospective action, West Brom will spend another season in the Championship but they will be kicking themselves for slipping up in the penalties after working so hard to get there after two legs.
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