Emi Buendia seemed to suffer a horror injury that no football fan wants to see.
The Aston Villa midfielder was involved in one of the most talked-about moments from Villa’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.
What first looked like a late challenge from Kyle Walker quickly became something much bigger online, as a single angle of the incident sent supporters into panic.
The match was filled with drama. Burnley, who have already been relegated, took the lead after just 8 minutes, when Emi Martinez parried a shot into Jaidon Anthony, who tapped it in to make it 1-0.
Aston Villa looked as if they had equalised, after Morgan Rogers crossed the ball to Ollie Watkins to head it into the back of the net. However, VAR found Ollie Watkins in an offside position, leading the goal to be ruled out.
Burnley’s smile did not last long, though; just 4 minutes after the goal was overturned, Ross Barkley headed it home from a John McGinn corner, equalising for Villa in the 42nd minute.
Ollie Watkins also got his goal in the 2nd half, when Emi Martinez played a brilliant through ball over the top of the Burnley defence for Watkins, who held off two Burnley defenders to put it past Max Weiss.
Burnley got their equaliser just moments after Villa’s 2nd, as they won a dangerous turnover. The Burnley players combined well before Hannibal Mejbri passed it to Zian Flemming, who finished it into the corner beautifully.
With a match so tight, and Villa fighting for a Champions League spot, they brought on Emiliano Buendia for Victor Lindelof in the 74th minute.
With the tie about to come to an end, in the 89th minute, Buendia picked up the ball at the edge of the box, going past Ward-Prowse, he faced up against Kyle Walker.
Just when he drove past Walker, Buendia went down asking for a penalty.
It appeared that Walker stamped on Buendia’s foot from behind, causing him to go down.
Further angles were shown of the aftermath, where everyone feared for Buendia’s leg.
A screenshot of the same moment began spreading across Twitter, and many fans were convinced they had seen something far worse than a penalty incident.
The still image froze Buendia on the turf, clutching his leg in visible discomfort. From that single angle, his foot appeared to be twisted unnaturally, and his lower leg looked bent.
This led people to think, at first glance, that Buendia had snapped his leg.
Thought he snapped his ankle at first
— Theo 🦁🟣 (@YesLadsUTV) May 10, 2026
However, this was just an optical illusion.
The socks, his boot and his leg had lined up in such a way that it looked like a horrific injury, especially when paired with Buendia’s facial expression of shock and pain.
Walker’s studs had caught Buendia on the back of his foot which caused Buendia’s boot to come off, making it look like his foot had twisted, with his ankle playing its part in making it seem as if his leg had snapped.
While this caused some panic amongst fans, what happened after made the headlines. VAR had given its decision, no penalty.
What seemed to be an obvious late challenge by Walker, taking Buendia’s boot off, was not deemed a foul by VAR, not even sending the match referee, Anthony Taylor, to the screen.
This caused widespread outrage among fans, criticising VAR and Anthony Taylor.
Emi Buendia joined the outrage on social media post-match, posting a picture of the damage caused on his injured foot with the caption “Play On”.
This sparked a debate on a wider problem, the inconsistent refereeing and usage of VAR in the league. This entire Premier League season has been overshadowed by the calls given by referees and VAR, seeing laws change week in, week out.
We saw many instances this week itself, from the probable penalty on Joao Pedro vs Liverpool, to the late West Ham equaliser ruled out due to something Arsenal do every week.
Frustrations have grown, the Premier League Key Match Incident Panel (KMI) have often come out and admitted to the wrong decisions, but it keeps on repeating every week.
Many fans have called to dismantle VAR as a whole, while some just ask for a more consistent and fair level of refereeing.
REFERENCES:
📸 Villa man heads in crucial equaliser at Burnley on rare PL start 💪. (2026, October 5). OneFootball. https://onefootball.com/en/news/villa-man-heads-in-crucial-equaliser-at-burnley-on-rare-pl-start-42844445
Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa (10 May, 2026) Game Analysis – ESPN (IN). (n.d.). ESPN. https://www.espn.in/football/report/_/gameId/740947
‘He is a fighter’ – Emery praises fantastic Watkins after Aston Villa draw at Burnley. (n.d.). OneFootball. https://onefootball.com/en/news/he-is-a-fighter-emery-praises-fantastic-watkins-after-aston-villa-draw-at-burnley-42848155
Instagram. (n.d.). https://www.instagram.com/p/DYKrmm1CJf8/?img_index=2
