Tyrone Mings endured a nightmare Champions League debut on his return for Aston Villa on Wednesday as he was penalized for bizarrely picking up Emiliano Martinez's goal kick in his penalty area.
The crazy penalty, which was converted by Hans Vanaken to hand Club Brugge a 1-0 lead in the match, will undoubtedly go down as one of the strangest spot-kicks — and most shambolic from Aston Villa's perspective — ever to be conceded in Champions League history.
Five minutes into the second half, Martinez dropped the ball inside his six-yard box before passing it to Mings to his left, who bent down to pick up the ball and reposition it on the line for the goalkeeper to retake.
Immediately punished for his lapse in concentration, Mings watched in disbelief as referee Tobias Stieler blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot, indicating that the Villa defender had illegally handled the ball inside the box.
Despite protesting that he assumed Martinez was passing him the ball to take the restart, the referee and VAR stood by the initial decision.
The former England international will feel hard done by given that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes got away with making the same error in the Champions League last campaign.
After receiving a goal-kick pass from David Raya during Arsenal's clash with Bayern Munich, Gabriel leaned down to pick up and reposition the ball.
To the dismay of Bayern's players, the Brazilian was not penalized — and Mikel Arteta praised the referee for using 'common sense' after the match.
Mings, who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his right knee on August 12 last year during a 5-1 defeat against Newcastle, was called in for his Champions League debut as manager Unai Emery rotated his squad.
The 31-year-old former Aston Villa captain recovered last month by featuring for the club's U21 side.
Upon returning to the Villa fold, Mings will be met with far more competition at center-back than he was previously used to before suffering an injury, with Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, and Ezri Konsa all considered regular first-team players under Emery.
The shambolic penalty will likely do the ex-England star no favors as he bids to win back his place, with Villa set to face Liverpool, Crystal Palace, and Juventus across their next three fixtures.
To add insult to injury for Mings, who is the first English player to concede a penalty on his Champions League debut, fans quickly took to social media to mock the defender after his costly error.
Accompanying his X post with a series of laughing emojis, one fan said: 'Tyrone Mings... what are you doing?'
Another added: 'Tyrone Mings has to be trolling. Wtf was he doing?'
A third supporter, claiming that Aston Villa were unfairly treated compared to Arsenal last season, posted: 'Tyrone Mings concedes a penalty for this brain fart of a handball…
The crazy penalty, which was converted by Hans Vanaken to hand Club Brugge a 1-0 lead in the match, will undoubtedly go down as one of the strangest spot-kicks — and most shambolic from Aston Villa's perspective — ever to be conceded in Champions League history.
Five minutes into the second half, Martinez dropped the ball inside his six-yard box before passing it to Mings to his left, who bent down to pick up the ball and reposition it on the line for the goalkeeper to retake.
Immediately punished for his lapse in concentration, Mings watched in disbelief as referee Tobias Stieler blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot, indicating that the Villa defender had illegally handled the ball inside the box.
Despite protesting that he assumed Martinez was passing him the ball to take the restart, the referee and VAR stood by the initial decision.
The former England international will feel hard done by given that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes got away with making the same error in the Champions League last campaign.
After receiving a goal-kick pass from David Raya during Arsenal's clash with Bayern Munich, Gabriel leaned down to pick up and reposition the ball.
To the dismay of Bayern's players, the Brazilian was not penalized — and Mikel Arteta praised the referee for using 'common sense' after the match.
Mings, who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his right knee on August 12 last year during a 5-1 defeat against Newcastle, was called in for his Champions League debut as manager Unai Emery rotated his squad.
The 31-year-old former Aston Villa captain recovered last month by featuring for the club's U21 side.
Upon returning to the Villa fold, Mings will be met with far more competition at center-back than he was previously used to before suffering an injury, with Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, and Ezri Konsa all considered regular first-team players under Emery.
The shambolic penalty will likely do the ex-England star no favors as he bids to win back his place, with Villa set to face Liverpool, Crystal Palace, and Juventus across their next three fixtures.
To add insult to injury for Mings, who is the first English player to concede a penalty on his Champions League debut, fans quickly took to social media to mock the defender after his costly error.
Accompanying his X post with a series of laughing emojis, one fan said: 'Tyrone Mings... what are you doing?'
Another added: 'Tyrone Mings has to be trolling. Wtf was he doing?'
A third supporter, claiming that Aston Villa were unfairly treated compared to Arsenal last season, posted: 'Tyrone Mings concedes a penalty for this brain fart of a handball…
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