Mark Clattenburg reacts to John McGinn controversy in Aston Villa QF defeat to PSG
John McGinn was involved in an off-the-ball altercation during Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to PSG.
PSG proved to have too much quality for Villa to handle over two legs, with the Parisians securing their place in the semi-finals with a 5-4 aggregate win.
Aston Villa made a remarkable second-half attempt to overcome the deficit, which at the time stood at 5-2, but they fell painfully short upon the final whistle despite a 3-2 victory on the night.
There were plenty of talking points throughout the game, though one was raised in regard to an incident off the ball, with some expecting to see a red card brandished, though it may have been hopeful thinking.
Achraf Hakimi appears to kick out at McGinn
McGinn, as he was in the first leg against PSG, was relentless in his pressing throughout the clash at Villa Park, and on one occasion, arguably too relentless, with a slight follow-through on Hakimi.
As the duo were on the floor, McGinn appeared to be trying to get back to his feet just as Hakimi seemed to swing a leg towards the Scotsman, though Mark Clattenburg thinks the officials were right to look past the incident.
| Aston Villa v PSG | Goals | Shots | xG | Possession |
| Aston Villa | 3 | 17 | 2.26 | 34% |
| PSG | 2 | 14 | 1.70 | 66% |
Speaking via Amazon Prime (15 April, 8:36pm), the former Premier League referee said: “There’ll be an argument to it, but is Hakimi just trying to get him out of his way by that swinging leg, with his body position trying to shake him off?
“That’s the decision that the referee has to look at. Is it in a violent way, or is it just trying to shake him off? I just think it’s about shaking them off, and I don’t think that they may all get involved in this one.”
Nothing came of the incident, though it did spur the home support on even further in their backing of Aston Villa.
Villa can hold their heads high after PSG quarter-final defeat
PSG are a world-class team with world-class players, and to suffer an aggregate defeat to them is nothing to be ashamed of.
However, Emery may walk away from the clash more frustrated than anything given the number of chances his side squandered in the clash, matched with the nature of the visitors’ opening goal.
With that said, the level of fight in that Villa team tonight is something to be proud of, and to say they secured a 3-2 victory against the giants of French football is no mean feat.
Premier League football will be their focus now, and with six games to go, they have it all to play for, and if a performance like that of tonight can be replicated, they can look forward to another Champions League campaign next season.