Aston Villa calls for an investigation after Ollie Watkins says he was abused by a Brentford fan
Tempers flare after Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins scores his side's second goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium, in London, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Credit: AP/Jonathan Brady
BRENTFORD, England — Aston Villa called for an investigation after striker Ollie Watkins said he was abused by a Brentford fan on Sunday.
Watkins, who used to play for Brentford, scored the winning goal in Villa's 2-1 victory at GTech Community Stadium.
“Aston Villa FC wants to express its support for Ollie Watkins and, with the utmost respect for the big majority of Brentford fans and for the club, we ask the authorities to investigate this incident to find this individual," the club posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Zero tolerance to abuse in football.”
Watkins, an England international, left Brentford for Villa in 2020 and struck his winning goal in the 85th minute.
His celebrations sparked an on-field melee and Ezri Konsa and Saman Ghoddos were shown yellow cards.
“I have nothing but respect for the Brentford fans, I love the club, but there was one individual who was abusing me all game," Watkins said in Villa's post on X. “Personal abuse that footballers should not need to deal with. You can have banter, but this wasn't banter, hence my celebration.”
Neither Watkins nor Villa described the nature of the alleged abuse.
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring his sides second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Aston Villa, at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Credit: AP/Dave Shopland
Brentford manager Thomas Frank later described Watkins as "a top person of top integrity.”
Both Brentford and Villa had players sent off, with Ben Mee red carded in the 71st and Boubacar Kamara shown red in stoppage time.
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