Premier League: What do Sunderland have to do to survive?

Summary

Premier League reaction as Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle, join Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham in next season's Champions League
Aston Villa join Crystal Palace in Europa League qualification after controversy at Old Trafford
Villa make complaint to referees' body
Conference League qualification goes to Nottingham Forest
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Live Reporting

Written by Emma Smith, Ben Ramsdale & Karan Vinod.

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Get Involved - 'Did they write a letter then?'published at 08:10 British Summer Time 26 May
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Where was all this uproar from Villa when a dodgy decision that couldn't be looked at by VAR meant they didn't go down? Did they write a letter then?
Dean
Aston Villa avoided relegation a few years ago due to a questionable goal line error. These things even themselves out.
Iain, Newcastle
With VAR and refereeing, you win some, you lose some. If I remember rightly, it wasn’t too many seasons ago that a goal-line technology error was what kept Villa in the Premier League. Villa also have a great chance to actually win the Europa League, so it could work out well for them.
Jonny, Newry
'You would be absolutely raging if you were Villa'published at 08:07 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC One
You would be absolutely raging if you were Aston Villa and rightly so.
It is an error and the referee has blown too early so VAR can't intervene. A huge error when you look at the ramifications.
The keeper makes a mess of it, never has control of the ball. Morgan Rogers has every right to get the ball. I understand the anger, I really do.
'It's a huge error'published at 08:03 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Match of the Day's Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards discuss the "Morgan Rogers no-goal" at Manchester United and how the decision may have cost Aston Villa Champions League football next season.
Have a look at the incident yourself below, and let us know what you think.
Media caption,
'The ref's blown too early' - How error may have cost Villa Champions League football
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Get Involvedpublished at 07:59 British Summer Time 26 May
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I haven't seen the Villa controversial moment yet, but it doesn't surprise me. The refereeing and VAR standards this year have been shocking. How do we improve the level of officiating? Do we need a revamp of grassroots refereeing pathways? Or should we be trying to recruit from overseas? Every European game has felt like a relief, to know it isn't reffed by the usual suspects. It is embarrassing for supposedly 'the best league in the world'.
George, Devon
Who is Thomas Bramall?published at 07:55 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Villa said the 35-year-old was too inexperienced to have been given such an important game in their season.
Bramall has however refereed several Premier League matches this season. He first officiated in the English top flight in August 2022.
His games this season have largely been in either the first or second tier, with 11 in the Premier League and 12 in the Championship.
Image source, Getty Images
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Get Involvedpublished at 07:50 British Summer Time 26 May
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Villa were not controversially beaten. They lost to a decent Utd performance, had their goal-keeper sent off correctly, and dropped too many points over 38 games, including a draw with Ipswich.
Roger, East London
Such a costly mistake for Villa, although United did pull a great performance out of the bag yesterday. Doesn't take anything away from Villa's season they have been tremendous.
Lauren, Surrey
I think Villa and Forest fans should look at the positives regarding their forthcoming European campaigns. Both have great opportunities to win those respective titles whereas if they had qualified for the Champions League and Europa League they arguably wouldn't walk away with any silverware.
John, Barcelona
How costly will not making the Champions League be for Villa?published at 07:45 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Kieran Maguire
Football finance expert
Aston Villa were probably the club in greatest need of qualify for the Champions League next season because they have made the second highest losses in Premier League history (£678m) - only exceeded by Chelsea (£1.257bn).
Since being promoted to the Premier League in 2019, Villa - under new owners Wes Edens and Nas Sawiris - have been one of the bigger spenders in terms of transfer fees - investing more than £868m on players.
The owners have backed a series of managers - Steve Bruce, Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery - but at a significant cost.
A lot of the transfers have been on credit terms which, while not unusual in the Premier League, means Villa owe more than £150m in previous purchases.
Champions League qualification would have helped the club deal with the cash requirements in respect of some of these former player purchases.
Villa have only managed to break even once in the past 15 years, and that was solely because of the sale of Jack Grealish. Former owners Randy Lerner and Tony Xia both walked away from the club having lost over £100m.
Villa issue complaint after 'big mistake'published at 07:40 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Old Trafford
Aston Villa have complained to referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited after a "big mistake" by official Thomas Bramall contributed to them missing out on the Champions League.
In Villa's post-match news conference, director of football operations Damian Vidagany said the club were unhappy Bramall had been given such an important game.
"We are going to send a complaint," said Vidagany. "The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the selection of the referee - one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League.
"It's not about the decision, clearly it was a mistake. The complaint is about the referee. The problem is why the international referees were not here today."
It was initially indicated that Villa would complain to the Premier League, but they later said they had written to PGMOL.
PGMOL - the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football - declined to comment.
'£75m error' or '£100m blunder'?published at 07:35 British Summer Time 26 May
The newspapers are divided on how much money Villa will miss out on due to their sixth place Premier League finish - but it is certainly a lot.
Failure to reach the Champions League will cost Unai Emery's side £75 million says the Times - while the Telegraph report it could be up to £100m.
Image source, Times
Image source, Telegraph
'So costly'published at 07:31 British Summer Time 26 May
Aston Villa have said they will make a complaint to the Premier League following an error by referee Thomas Bramall during their game at Manchester United.
Bramall disallowed Morgan Rogers' goal as he ruled the Villa player had kicked the ball out of United keeper Altay Bayandir's hands. Replays showed Bayandir did not have control of the ball.
Villa went on to lose 2-0, and miss out on Champions League qualification.
Image source, Mirror
Image source, Express
Which Premier League sides have qualified for Europe?published at 07:26 British Summer Time 26 May
Champions League
- Liverpool (Champions)
- Arsenal (second place)
- Manchester City (third place)
- Chelsea (fourth place)
- Newcastle (fifth place)
- Tottenham (Europa League champions)
Europa League
- Aston Villa (sixth place)
- Crystal Palace (FA Cup winners)
Conference League
- Nottingham Forest (seventh place)
What the Premier League said about disallowed Villa goalpublished at 07:22 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
A tweet from the Premier League match centre read: "The referee's call was a free-kick to Manchester United with Altay Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Morgan Rogers gained possession.
"The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore the incident was not reviewable by the VAR."
Controversy as Villa miss out on Champions Leaguepublished at 07:17 British Summer Time 26 May
FT: Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa
Michael Emons
BBC Sport at Old Trafford
Aston Villa had a goal controversially ruled out and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez sent off as they lost at Manchester United to miss out on a Champions League place.
10-man Villa were on course to qualify for Europe's premier club competition before Amad Diallo scored a looping header from Bruno Fernandes' cross-field ball in the 76th minute.
That goal came just moments after Villa thought they had taken the lead when Morgan Rogers put the ball in the net.
But it did not count as the referee judged Rogers had kicked the ball out of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir's hands - and because he blew his whistle before it went into the net, the video assistant referee was unable to intervene.
Villa boss Unai Emery was clearly incensed at the decision, and was furious again when United were awarded a late penalty after Ian Maatsen brought down Diallo, with the departing Christian Eriksen scoring to seal the 2-0 victory.
Defeat means Villa, who had reached the Champions League quarter-finals this season, will be playing in the Europa League next season.
Image source, Getty Images
Postpublished at 07:15 British Summer Time 26 May
We'll come to the sides who have earned Champions League football later today. But first we have to focus on one of the sides who missed out on the top level of European competition yesterday in contentious circumstances.
Look away now, Villa fans...
How the PL top half ended uppublished at 07:10 British Summer Time 26 May
Image source, Opta
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Get Involvedpublished at 07:05 British Summer Time 26 May
#bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)
As always, we would love to hear from you about everything football related - particularly your thoughts on the final day of the Premier League season.
Please keep them civil, publishable - and put your names on them! Nothing from Anon, please.
Contact details are at the top of this post.
Morning!published at 06:59 British Summer Time 26 May
Welcome to this Bank Holiday Monday football news live, where we will be swimming in the fallout from the final day of the Premier League season. What a lovely image.
There's plenty to get into - unfortunately, for Aston Villa fans - and we'll be focusing on the conclusion of the race for Europe, plus all the biggest stories from Sunday's games.