By Nathan Ridley

Copyright birminghammail

Aston Villa have been left furious after Feyenoord were given a controversial red card reprieve in their Europa League clash . With just 13 minutes on the clock in Rotterdam, Feyenoord centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic brought down Ollie Watkins, who was bearing down on goal. All eyes turned to referee Rade Obrenovic, who pulled out a yellow card – much to Villa’s dismay. VAR looked at the incident, though, and told Obrenovic to review his decision on the pitch-side monitor, as a potential red check took place. But in a rare moment, the Slovenian referee stuck with his original decision. Ahmedhodzic was the last man back when he made the tackle on Watkins, who got a touch on the ball as he was taken down. Yet ex-Sheffield United star avoided a sending off and TNT Sports commentator Steve Sidwell feels that he was fortunate. “I’m not sure on that and neither are the Aston Villa bench,” former Villa midfielder Sidwell said. “They are talking down there to the fourth official. Unai Emery is keeping calm. For me, Ollie Watkins takes a touch, and I think if he can get to that ball, he can get a strike on goal. He’s been brought down.” Villa fans were fairly split on the decision. “Let’s be honest, that’s not a red card,” one supporter posted on X. “Was a yellow in fairness,” another added. But some were less agreeable. “Blatant red card,” a Villa fan raged. “That was as clear a red card as you will see. Totally screwed over there,” a second fumed. Soon after, it was Feyenoord who weren’t happy with a decision from Obrenovic. The Dutch side’s manager, Robin van Persie, was outraged after Ayase Ueda’s header from a corner was chalked off. Obrenovic adjudged that Villa defender Matty Cash was fouled before the ball reached Ueda, keeping the game at 0-0. Feyenoord had the lion’s share of chances in the first half, although the visitors will be ruing the chance Watkins would’ve had if not for Ahmedhodzic’s foul. Villa were forced to make a change to their starting line-up before a ball was kicked. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez picked up a knock in the warm-up at De Kuip, prompting Emery to call on Marco Bizot as a late replacement. Everyday, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here . You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here . Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here , while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here .