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.”

Villa and Watkins did not elaborate on the specifics of the alleged mistreatment.

Watkins was later referred to by Brentford manager Thomas Frank as “a top person of top integrity.”

Players from Brentford and Villa were sent off; Ben Mee was red carded in the 71st minute, and Boubacar

Kamara became red during the halt.

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