Young admitted fault after Agbonlahor dismissal, says Lambert

Paul Lambert hinted Aston Villa will launch an appeal after claiming Gabriel Agbonlahor was wrongfully dismissed against Manchester United.

The seemingly innocuous 50-50 challenge between Agbonlahor and former Villa team-mate Ashley Young served as the flash point of Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Villa Park.

Agbonlahor looked to make minimal contact with Young’s shin, but referee Lee Mason was quick to brandish a red card. 

According to Lambert, Young has admitted he was at fault during the coming together and not Agbonlahor, who was dismissed after 65 minutes. 

That will be of little comfort to Lambert and he was left to fume over the decision. 

“If that’s a red card, you may as well just pack up because it won’t be a game of football,” Lambert said.

“I’ve spoken to [Villa goalkeeper] Brad Guzan just after and he tells me that Ashley Young has admitted that he fouled Gabby.

“There’s a good chance of that [appealing] because if people review that, especially when a player has admitted that he fouled Gabby, there’s no way. That’s not a red card.

“It’s a tackle where two lads went in for the ball and in my own view it was never a red card.”

The points were shared after Christian Benteke’s opener had been cancelled out by Radamel Falcao.