PSG Beat Aston Villa 2-1 in Super Cup

The PSG vs Aston Villa Super Cup final produced a decisive VAR intervention as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in Salzburg to retain the UEFA Super Cup. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring, 17-year-old Brian Madjo equalised for Villa before half-time, and Désiré Doué scored the winner in the 61st minute — but only after VAR corrected an incorrect offside flag. Somali referee Omar Artan, meanwhile, completed a historic night as the first non-European referee to take charge of the UEFA Super Cup.

The biggest refereeing moment came with the score locked at 1-1. Ousmane Dembélé released Doué down the right, the PSG forward beat Marco Bizot and finished superbly, but the assistant referee raised the flag for offside. The celebrations stopped and the goal initially appeared to have been ruled out. VAR Marco Di Bello then checked the position. Replays established that Matty Cash, positioned on the opposite side of Aston Villa’s defensive line, had kept Doué onside. The decision was corrected and the goal awarded.

It was ultimately the goal that won the Super Cup.

VAR correctly restores Désiré Doué winner

This was an excellent example of what VAR was originally designed to do.

There was little subjective interpretation involved. The assistant believed Doué was offside; the video evidence showed that Cash was playing him onside. Once the relevant positions were established, the original decision had to be corrected.

The review took time, but accuracy mattered because the consequence was enormous: an incorrectly disallowed goal would have denied PSG what became the match winner. The Guardian’s live report confirmed that the flag went up immediately after Doué scored before VAR established that Cash had kept him onside.

The VAR Verdict: Correct intervention. Goal correctly awarded.

This is also precisely the type of VAR use UEFA has been trying to separate from unnecessary intervention in subjective incidents. There was a clear factual error and video technology provided a clear correction.

Kvaratskhelia gives PSG the lead

PSG went ahead in the 20th minute through Kvaratskhelia.

The Georgian attacker initially helped create pressure inside the Villa penalty area before receiving another opportunity down the left. He beat Cash, moved into the box and powered his finish beyond Bizot to make it 1-0.

No refereeing controversy surrounded the goal. The phase was checked in the normal manner and play restarted with PSG ahead.

Villa nevertheless caused PSG significant problems throughout the first half. Brian Madjo in particular repeatedly threatened the Paris defence and went close several times before eventually finding the equaliser.

Brian Madjo makes Super Cup history

Villa equalised in the 45th minute with one of the standout moments of the final.

John McGinn delivered from the right and Madjo battled with Willian Pacho before producing an excellent finish from a difficult angle. The goal made the Aston Villa forward the youngest scorer in UEFA Super Cup history, aged 17 years and 212 days. UEFA’s updated competition statistics confirm the record.

Importantly from a refereeing perspective, the physical contest between Madjo and Pacho did not produce an attacking-foul intervention.

There was contact between the two players, but nothing in the available sequence supported cancelling the goal. Artan allowed the physical duel to continue and Villa were rewarded.

It was a good example of allowing normal football contact rather than searching for an offence simply because two players were using their bodies inside the penalty area.

The VAR Verdict: Correct goal. No reason for VAR intervention.

Was Villa denied a penalty?

There was an interesting moment in the 35th minute that could easily have generated more controversy had Aston Villa’s George Hemmings gone to ground.

Hemmings broke into the PSG penalty area with Achraf Hakimi applying pressure from behind. There was contact, Hemmings stumbled but remained on his feet and eventually continued the attack rather than appealing strongly for a penalty. The Guardian described the potential penalty as extremely soft.

This is an important refereeing point.

Contact inside the penalty area does not automatically equal a foul.

The referee has to determine whether the defender’s action actually trips, pushes, holds or otherwise illegally impedes the attacker. A replay showing physical contact is not by itself enough to justify VAR creating a penalty.

From the available footage and reporting, there was not sufficient evidence of a clear foul by Hakimi.

The VAR Verdict: No penalty. Correct decision.

PSG penalty appeal correctly rejected

PSG then had their own penalty appeal shortly after half-time.

Doué drove into the area from the right in the 48th minute before going down while challenged by Villa’s Hemmings. Artan did not award a penalty.

Replay showed Hemmings holding his position rather than making an illegal challenge, and the incident did not trigger an intervention from VAR.

Again, this was good use of the clear-and-obvious threshold.

There was a coming together, but there was no convincing evidence that Hemmings committed a punishable offence.

The VAR Verdict: No penalty. Correct decision and correct VAR non-intervention.

Omar Artan’s historic Super Cup performance

The match carried particular significance for referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan.

UEFA confirmed before the final that the Somali official would become the first non-European referee to take charge of the UEFA Super Cup. Artan had been selected for the 2026 World Cup but was unable to participate after being refused entry to the United States.

That meant his performance was always likely to receive additional attention.

Instead, the strongest compliment available after the final is that Artan generally kept himself out of the story.

There was no controversial penalty, questionable dismissal or major breakdown between the referee and VAR. The biggest video intervention concerned Doué’s offside position, and that was a factual correction handled primarily by the video team.

Artan also maintained a relatively sensible foul threshold rather than turning a competitive final into a constant sequence of free kicks.

UEFA’s official match information confirms that Artan worked with Liban Ahmed of Djibouti and Stephen Yiembe of Kenya as assistant referees. Italy’s Marco Di Bello was VAR, Guillermo Cuadra Fernández of Spain was AVAR and Slovenia’s Rade Obrenovič served as fourth official.

How Artan handled discipline

The second half required more disciplinary control as the intensity increased.

Pau Torres was booked in the 51st minute after a challenge from behind on Doué. João Gomes was then cautioned shortly after PSG’s second goal for another foul on Doué, while McGinn received a yellow before being substituted after arguing with the assistant referee.

None of those incidents developed into serious red-card controversies.

That matters when assessing the referee.

A final does not require a large number of cards to demonstrate authority. The objective is consistent sanctioning when behaviour crosses the line while allowing legitimate physical competition.

Artan broadly achieved that balance.

Why Doué’s goal was the key referee incident

From a VAR perspective, the final effectively came down to one major decision.

61st minute: Doué scores.
Assistant referee: offside.
VAR check: onside.
Final decision: goal.

Cash’s position on the opposite side of the defensive line was decisive.

This is precisely why delayed or carefully managed offside decisions are so important in modern football.

Had the assistant stopped the attack prematurely rather than allowing the sequence to finish, VAR would not have been able to restore the goal.

Instead, Doué completed the attacking move, the assistant communicated the offside decision and the technology was then able to establish the correct outcome.

The process may frustrate supporters when celebrations are delayed, but this incident demonstrates the alternative: without video review, PSG’s winning goal would have been incorrectly disallowed.

Villa created more danger than the score suggests

Aston Villa were far from passengers in the final.

By the 54th minute Villa had registered 11 attempts compared with PSG’s four, according to the live match reporting. Madjo had already produced several major chances before his equaliser, while Hemmings later had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-2 but shot directly at Matvey Safonov.

Villa threatened again late in the match when Alysson delivered across the six-yard area but Tammy Abraham could not connect.

PSG were dangerous themselves. Kvaratskhelia remained a major threat, Dembélé changed the rhythm after entering at half-time and Doué’s quality ultimately produced the decisive moment.

The 2-1 score therefore reflected a competitive final rather than complete PSG control.

Omar Artan referee rating

The VAR Verdict referee rating: 8/10

Artan’s biggest success was avoiding unnecessary involvement.

He allowed physical contact where appropriate, correctly rejected the main penalty appeals and controlled the increasing second-half tension without losing authority.

There were minor moments that could be debated — as there will be in almost every match — but nothing currently available suggests a major refereeing error.

His historic appointment therefore ended with the attention where referees usually want it: on the players rather than the official.

For an official entering the match under enormous personal and international scrutiny, that represents a successful performance.

VAR rating: Marco Di Bello

The VAR Verdict VAR rating: 9/10

Di Bello had one genuinely match-defining responsibility and got it right.

Doué had been incorrectly flagged offside for PSG’s second goal. VAR established that Cash was keeping him onside and restored the goal.

Just as importantly, the video official did not manufacture interventions around the two penalty-area incidents involving Hemmings.

That combination is what UEFA has repeatedly demanded from VAR:

Intervene when the evidence is clear. Stay out when the referee’s decision remains supportable.

PSG retain the UEFA Super Cup

The victory means PSG successfully retained the Super Cup after also winning the trophy in 2025.

Kvaratskhelia’s opener put them in control, Madjo’s historic equaliser threatened an upset and Doué eventually settled the final with the goal that required VAR confirmation.

For Villa, the defeat will hurt because they created enough opportunities to make PSG uncomfortable. Madjo’s performance and record-breaking goal nevertheless provided one of the night’s biggest positives.

For The VAR Verdict, however, the defining sequence happened in the 61st minute.

The assistant referee made the wrong factual call.

VAR had clear evidence.

The decision was corrected.

And the correctly awarded goal ultimately decided a European trophy.

The VAR Verdict

The PSG vs Aston Villa Super Cup final provided one of the clearest examples of VAR working as intended.

Doué’s winning goal was initially ruled out for offside. Without VAR, the match would have remained 1-1 because of an incorrect assistant-referee decision.

Instead, Marco Di Bello’s video team identified Cash keeping Doué onside and the goal was correctly restored.

There was also restraint.

Artan did not award soft penalties for either Hemmings’ contact with Hakimi or Doué going down against Hemmings. VAR did not attempt to create offences that were not clearly present.

Major decisions: Correct
Doué offside overturn: Correct VAR intervention
Hemmings/Hakimi: No penalty — correct
Doué/Hemmings: No penalty — correct
Omar Artan rating: 8/10
VAR Marco Di Bello: 9/10
Overall officiating verdict: Very good

For Artan personally, the final represented something even bigger. After being unable to officiate at the World Cup, he became the first non-European referee to lead a UEFA Super Cup and completed the assignment without a major controversy.

For VAR, the night offered a simpler lesson.

When video technology is used to correct a visible, factual mistake rather than search for marginal reasons to overturn the referee, this is exactly what VAR should look like.