Mason Greenwood has been accused of spitting at Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana during a heated pre-season clash in France — moments before the former Manchester United striker became involved in a tussle with Tyrone Mings that left the Marseille forward’s shirt in tatters.
The flashpoint came in the 87th minute of Saturday’s pre-season friendly at the Stade Velodrome after Greenwood fouled Onana, shoved the midfielder as he got back to his feet and then tangled with Mings. Greenwood’s shirt was ripped as the pair grappled.
According to The Sun, Villa’s players were said to be furious because Greenwood is alleged to have spat at Onana shortly before Mings intervened.
Footage appears to show Onana react as if something touched his face, before later complaining to the referee about something, although it is not clear enough to definitively prove Greenwood spat at him.
All three players — Greenwood, Mings and Onana — were booked, before Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi swiftly substituted Greenwood.
The confrontation capped a bad-tempered finale that also saw De Zerbi and Villa manager Unai Emery clash on the touchline after a late challenge on former Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara.
It is understood that Villa are not expected to push for further action, and any sanction would depend on whether the referee recorded the alleged spitting in his match report to the French FA. UEFA will not intervene as the fixture was a friendly.
Marseille won Saturday’s game 3-1 thanks to a second-half brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who struck twice after coming off the bench.
Greenwood had earlier opened the scoring before Villa captain John McGinn levelled to make it 1-1 at half-time.
The match was billed as a key part of both sides’ pre-season preparations, with Marseille looking ahead to their Ligue 1 opener at Rennes on Friday and Villa fine-tuning ahead of facing Newcastle in the Premier League next weekend.
Greenwood, 23, has been in prolific form this summer after scoring 22 goals in all competitions last season — his first campaign in France since leaving Manchester United in a £27million deal.
He also found the net against Sevilla last weekend and hit a hat-trick against Dutch side Excelsior Maassluis in July.
Marseille sporting director Mehdi Benatia moved earlier this month to quash speculation linking Greenwood with a move to Saudi Arabia, insisting: ‘Greenwood will stay with us. He is not for sale. We want to keep him and consider him a key part of OM’s project for the upcoming season.’
Benatia’s comments came amid reports that several Saudi Pro League clubs were weighing up bids for the former England international, who has quickly become a central figure for De Zerbi’s side.
The ex-Brighton boss has publicly praised Greenwood in recent months, describing him in April as ‘a natural talent’ and insisting he could be remembered ‘as one of the best to ever play at the Stade Velodrome.’
Greenwood last played for Man United in January 2022, shortly before his arrest on suspicion of rape and assault. He was subsequently charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
But all charges against him were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February 2023 after the withdrawal of key witnesses and new evidence coming to light.
He spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Getafe, scoring 10 goals in 36 appearances, before joining Marseille on a permanent basis last summer. United are understood to have inserted a 50 per cent sell-on clause into the agreement.
