Valencia coach criticises Harvey Elliott after red card against Villarreal

Harvey Elliott, on loan at Valencia from Liverpool, received another setback in his struggling season after being sent off during his team's 2-1 loss to Villarreal in LaLiga. The match saw clear frustration from coach Javier Aguirre towards the referee's decision.

Valencia took the lead through Pepelu from a penalty in the first half, before Alex Freeman equalised for Villarreal. After Pape Gueye was sent off for Villarreal, it seemed Valencia had a golden opportunity to secure their second win of the season in LaLiga, but Harvey Elliott, who came on as a substitute in the 69th minute, received two consecutive yellow cards, leading to his dismissal in the 89th minute, having received the first booking for a foul and the second for protesting against the referee, according to the match report.

Aguirre expressed his anger at the decision to send off the English player, calling it "absurd and ridiculous", and said: "I don't know what he could have said to the referee, he hardly speaks Spanish, so his sending off for something he said makes me angry." He added: "This is a ridiculous red card, and I told him that. He is not responsible, I am, and I will talk to him about it privately. In the end, the responsibility falls on me, because I am the one who decides who plays and how we play."

The coach continued: "We were in a good position, and the match was being played with 11 players against 10, but the red card ruined everything, and we ended up playing an open match, either winning everything or losing it." Villarreal took advantage of the situation, with George Mikautadze scoring the winning goal in the 6th minute of added time.

Harvey Elliott, aged 23, continues to struggle after failing to score or provide an assist in his six appearances for Valencia this season, managing only 152 minutes of play. The player had a difficult season in 2025-2026 during his loan to Aston Villa, who avoided playing him to prevent triggering the mandatory purchase clause of £35 million. Valencia currently sits in 19th place in LaLiga with six points from ten matches, while Elliott is under contract with Liverpool until June 2028 and hopes to regain his form after a tough period in his career.