Sky Sports pundit and former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie was moved by security after ‘winding up’ Nottingham Forest fans on Thursday night.
Villa battered Forest 4-0 (4-1 aggregate) to progress to the final of the Europa League, where Unai Emery’s side will face Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20.
Hendrie, who played 308 times for the club between 1994–2007, gleefully taunted the visitors and was seen being told by security to get behind the advertising hoardings.
Footage taken from the stands at Villa Park showed the 48-year-old leaping up and down on the sideline waving his arms to gee up the Holt End.
He was seen laughing and gesticulating to the away supporters that the score was four-nil, holding up his fingers and then pointing to the digital scoreboard.
Since retiring from playing back in 2019, Hendrie has regularly featured on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.
Lee Hendrie taunted the Nottingham Forest fans by indicting the 4-0 score with his hands
He was working for Aston Villa’s in-house TV channel on Thursday night and delighted in taunting Forest while the game went on.
Hendrie did not appear to be bothered when stewards insisted he left the pitch having provoked the downcast fans.
His actions divided opinion online, with some branding him classless and others, predominantly of the Villa persuasion finding his antics funny and calling him a ‘legend’.
It was a night Hendrie, the Villa fans and even Prince William revelled in, with the victory given a royal seal of approval in the stands.
Prince William was seen dancing to Sweet Caroline and celebrating wildly as the goals went in.
Unai Emery’s men overturned the first-leg deficit with ease.
Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead on the evening, making it 1-1 on aggregate, after excellent work from Emi Buendia.
The Argentine then put Villa in front in the tie from the penalty spot on 58 minutes – cueing the first real raw celebration from William.
Hendry was seen laughing performatively when stewards forced him away from the pitch
John McGinn spoke to the prince before kick-off and he brought a smile to his face towards the end of the match with a quickfire brace on 77 and 80 minutes to complete the scoreline and let William and others dream of the Europa League final.
Freiburg now stand between Villa and their first major trophy in 30 years and automatic qualification for the Champions League next season, although they look well-placed to finish in the top five in the Premier League.
If they do win the Europa League in less than a fortnight, it would be the fifth time that Emery has lifted the trophy – having won it three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
