Police contact Aston Villa and Brentford over Ollie Watkins abuse claim
Villa and Brentford will both be contacted by police after Ollie Watkins accused a spectator of abusing him during Sunday’s Premier League match.
The Villa striker pointed to a home fan after scoring the winner against his former club at the Gtech Community Stadium. It is understood Watkins told later Villa staff the supporter had been shouting abuse about a member of his family.
Police are now poised to investigate after the club called on the authorities to find the individual concerned.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said: “We are aware of the claims. Officers will be making contact with officials at Aston Villa and Brentford to find out further details.”
Watkins’ goal earned Villa a 2-1 win which moved them to within a point of the Premier League summit but sparked a bad-tempered finish to the match.
Unai Emery’s team had midfielder Boubacar Kamara sent-off for lashing out at Yehor Yarmoliuk during a stoppage time melee.
Watkins scored 50 goals in 143 appearances for Brentford before joining Villa for £28million in 2020.
Asked after the match about his reaction to scoring, he explained: “There was one individual who had been abusing me all game. From the first corner they got he was on to me, saying personal stuff.
“If it happens once it’s fine but two, three, four times, he kept going on to me. I thought: ‘I am going to get him back’.
“It was aimed at him, not anyone else in the stadium. I have a lot of respect for the people at Brentford, the owners, the manager, that is what I said to him when walking off.
“I didn’t say anything. I just celebrated. He didn’t like it. The whole stadium got the wrong idea but they don’t know what was going on.
“If he said those things to me, I would do it again. It doesn’t mean I don’t respect anyone else in the stadium but if that individual is saying those things to me, I would do it a thousand times, yeah.”
