Brentford felt they were denied a clear penalty and could have had another as they fell to a narrow defeat against Aston Villa at home on Saturday evening.
Ollie Watkins grabbed the only goal of the game in the 49th minute when his strike went through the legs of goalkeeper Mark Flekken. The striker set up Morgan Rogers to finish moments later, but it was ruled offside following a VAR check.
The VAR was called into action again later in the second half when Kevin Schade was pushed over in the box by Axel Disasi, but no foul was given.
Brentford baffled by penalty calls during Aston Villa defeat
Thomas Frank was shocked that referee Jarred Gillett didn’t point to the spot to give the Bees the opportunity to equalise.
“That is a big, big penalty,” the Brentford boss told Sky Sports. “I don’t understand how VAR can’t overturn it. Disasi clearly took Schade out.
“The second one was on the softer side, but you can’t go through the back of a player. I maybe understand that one a bit more, but the first one is a penalty.”
Keane Lewis-Potter, who hit the post in the first half, was equally stunned by the decision not to award a penalty.
“The first one is definitely a penalty,” the left-back said. “He clears him out. I have spoken to lads who have seen it back and it is a pen. VAR need to check that. Why would I lie about a blatant pen like that?”
He continued: “We deserved something from the game. The lads’ heads are down in there. It is disappointing.
“In this league if you switch off you get punished. We tried to get back into the game, created chances, but it wasn’t to be.”
Frank felt his side deserved more from a game he says they dominated, adding: “They went 1-0 up, getting the margin you need, via a deflection. From that moment to Ollie Watkins’ [second half] chance, we were completely on top.
“We created many dangerous situations without really having the margins. I’m really pleased with my team – especially in the second half, I feel we deserved more than we got. We played with great intensity, played forward and put them under pressure.”
The result ends a seven-game winless run for Villa to move them within two points of the top four in the Premier League table.
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