Carling Cup Final: Aston Villa Right to Feel Hard Done By

In their Carling Cup Final defeat at the hands of Manchester United, Aston Villa have every right to feel hard done by after Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor won a penalty for his side in only the fourth minute of the game.

Yes, James Milner scored the penalty and Villa went 1-0 up, but very crucially, United defender Nemanja Vidic was not sent-off, or even yellow carded, for his offence.

And that is the problem, because had Vidic been red carded as he rightfully should have, then Aston Villa would've probably dominated the match and gone on to win due to their numerical advantage.

Contrary to popular belief, there is actually no such thing as a "last man" rule in football, and so on the contrary to what most fans, journalists, and pundits alike say, that is not the reason Vidic should've been dismissed.

In the official FIFA rulebook for the 2009/10 season, it states that one of the sending-off offences is, "denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or penalty kick."

And an offence punishable by both a direct and indirect free kick, as well as a penalty, is "tackling an opponent...in a careless, reckless manner or using excessive force."

The Carling Cup official competition rules for 2009/10 are no different in this area, and so by letter of the law, Nemanja Vidic should have most certainly been sent-off for his tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The referee's job, as told by FIFA, UEFA, and the football associations of every FIFA-affiliated country, is to enforce the laws of the game; Phil Dowd clearly did not do that in such an instance.

Therefore, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is completely vindicated when he says: "I think everybody felt [Vidic should have been given a red card], everybody except the man who made the decision.

"I don't think there's any query about it and the more you see it, the more it's so puzzling. It's a big, big point in the game."

Of course, Villa only have themselves to blame later on in the match for letting their lead slip and allowing their more prestigious opponents to claim yet another Wembley victory.

For Martin O'Neill, the inquest begins as to how and why his Aston Villa players failed to hold on to their lead and win the Carling Cup.

And for the FA, the inquest should begin into why referee Phil Dowd did not perform as well as required in what was one of the biggest events in the English football calendar.