Ollie Watkins' cocky celebration after scoring the winning goal in Aston Villa's win at Brentford was directed at a home fan who insulted his family.
Watkins said his celebration was directed at someone who “abused” him during the game at Gtech Community Stadium.
The 27-year-old moved to Villa from Brentford in the summer of 2020 after spending three successful seasons with the London club in the Championship.
Watkins scored a header from a corner in the 85th minute, the momentum of which took it into the goal. The striker stood in the net in front of the west stand and appeared to point directly at a fan before putting his hands on his hips and screaming.
Saman Ghoddos tried to pull Watkins away, prompting Konsa to guard his Villa teammate. Konsa started dealing with Ghoddos and then Mathias “Zanka” Jorgensen got involved. Within seconds, players from both teams were pushing and shoving each other in the six-yard box.
Referee David Coote dismissed Konsa, Ghoddos, Jhon Duran and Vitaly Janelt, while Brentford head coach Thomas Frank and Villa set-piece coach Austin McPhee had to be separated on the touchline before the restart.
It was far from the only incident of the game: Brentford's Ben Mee and Villa's Boubacar Kamara were both shown red cards, a further 10 players received yellow cards and both head coaches received a yellow card.
Brentford and Villa players clashed after Watkins' goal (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
What did Watkins say?
“It was a pretty lively game, that just made me want to celebrate, but that's not for a lack of respect for the fans,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
“I love the club, the players and the staff, I can't say a bad word against them. But there was one person who insulted me all the time, the celebration was not aimed at anyone else, but directly at him.
“(Frank) asked me why I was partying like that – I still text him – but that’s why.
“I feel like I've done so much for the club and they've done so much for me, football is football and you can joke a bit but not when it's personal.”
“If the club doesn’t believe me, it’s up to them – but I explained it to Thomas and he knows I wouldn’t do that for no reason. It excited me and that’s exactly what happened.”
Villa, meanwhile, called on authorities to investigate Watkins' claim. A club statement said: “Aston Villa FC would like to express its support for Ollie Watkins and with the utmost respect for the vast majority of Brentford fans and the club, we ask the authorities to investigate this incident in order to find this individual. “Zero tolerance for abuse in football.”
The Athletic has asked Brentford whether it will investigate Watkins' alleged abuse.
GO DEEPER
How Ollie Watkins' work without the ball has taken his game to new levels
How was Watkins received on his previous trips back to Brentford?
When he returned to play against Brentford in the past, there was mutual respect and affection between the striker and the fans.
But when the game started again, the Brentford fans started booing Watkins loudly every time he touched the ball. The England international was visibly shaken by the incident as minutes later he was cautioned by referee Coote for running over Nathan Collins as Brentford prepared to take a corner.
At full time, Watkins spoke to his former coach Frank before immediately making his way into the tunnel. Villa captain John McGinn also spoke to Frank.
What else happened in the game?
A late incident between Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Brentford striker Neal Maupay resulted in numerous yellow cards and Kamara's red card.
Maupay went down in extra time when Martinez appeared to have pushed him before preparing to take a free-kick in Villa's half. After appeals from Maupay while he was on the ground, Martinez grabbed the Brentford striker by the shirt, leading to a scuffle in which Kamara was sent off for raising his hands in the face of Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk.
First, Villa head coach Unai Emery ran onto the pitch to defuse the situation between Martinez and Maupay, with Kamara being the Villa player closest to the incident. After initially trying to stop Yarmoliuk from protesting against Coote, Kamara grabbed the Ukrainian and punched him in the face.
A few minutes before Martinez lifted Maupay off the ground, another incident occurred between the two players.
Leon Bailey hit a back pass towards Martinez, but the goalkeeper was out of position and had to desperately try to prevent a bizarre own goal. Maupay ran towards the ball to take a quick corner and bumped his shoulder into Martinez, who theatrically fell to the ground and began rolling around.
McGinn had berated Martinez for initiating the incident before the second fight broke out between Kamara and Yarmoliuk and resulted in the Frenchman being sent off.
Martinez and Yarmoliuk were also suspended for their involvement in the incident, and Emery also received a yellow card for entering the pitch.
Although his counterpart was also cautioned, Frank insisted afterwards that Emery had shown “class” during the game.
Villa came from behind to win, with Brentford taking the lead in the first half through Keane Lewis-Potter. In the 71st minute, defender Mee was sent off after a VAR check for a foul on Bailey. Frank was cautioned for protesting against Mee's yellow card being upgraded to a red card.
Alex Moreno equalized for Villa just six minutes later, Watkins' winning goal coming in the final minutes of normal time.
What did the managers say?
Brentford boss Frank said at the end of the game that his players were “lacking class”.
“The game we love won’t be discussed in your questions today,” Frank added. “I don't like that.
“Ollie and I went to each other after the game and said there was a situation. He is a top player with the highest integrity. I couldn’t understand why the fans were booing him.”
Asked if he had spoken to Watkins after the incident, Emery replied: “No. I didn't know which player scored. I thought it was Konsa. I don't know now. I can explain everything when I look at it, and overall I can do the analysis, but not in depth.”
Emery added: “I don’t know exactly (what happened). I want to analyze the game in 90 minutes. Then I will analyze the circumstances that happened to Ollie at the end of the game, but I don't know what exactly happened to him. And then with Emiliano, Jhon Duran and Nicolo Zaniolo.
“Our behavior has always been fantastic. Maybe it wasn't good today and I would also like to explain to the players how we can react when we are under pressure. In certain circumstances, perhaps a little provocation for them. But I don’t want this behavior.”
Emery was also asked about Martinez's behavior in that late incident, as well as his entry onto the pitch and cautioning Coote. He said: “The behavior was not very good. And of course Emiliano Martinez's reaction wasn't very good either. I'll talk to Emi.
“But the most important thing for Emi is that he played very well – he played a fantastic game. That's the most important. Then it's about trying to maintain control in different situations on the field and in different moments. We have to be smart and try to control it.
“When I came on the pitch I tried to stay calm with the players. I got a yellow card for that, but I tried to control the players and Emiliano was a little upset and I tried to stay calm.”
Asked if Kamara deserved his red card, Emery said: “I don’t know. I didn’t see the action, but if he got a red card from the VAR, it’s because the VAR is the big eye for everyone.”
(Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)