'Deliberately' - This is the official reason why Brighton's equaliser was ruled out against Aston Villa

After a goalless first-half – which saw Villa have a huge penalty shout dismissed – Marcus Rashford opened the scoring after 51 minutes at the Amex Stadium.

The on-loan Manchester United man chipped Bart Verbruggen when he was played through one-on-one by Morgan Rogers after Villa dealt with a Brighton corner.

Albion responded well and thought they had an immediate response when Emi Martinez fumbled the ball and Simon Adingra found the net from close range.

However, the goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check – which saw referee Stuart Attwell go over to watch the incident on the pitchside monitor.

The Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) explained on X (formerly Twitter): “VAR checked the referee’s call of goal for Brighton – and established that Mitoma handled the ball deliberately in the build-up and recommended an on-field review. The goal was then disallowed.”

The reason why Villa were not given a first-half penalty was also explained. Replays appeared to show Jack Hinshelwood brought down Jacob Ramsey in the box.

@PLMatchCentre stated: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Aston Villa following a challenge by Hinshelwood on Ramsey was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed not to reach the threshold for a foul.”