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Villa teammates in heated bust-up 

Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi appeared to headbutt team-mate Tyrone Mings in a heated on-field spat between the incensed duo.

The bust-up took place midway through the first half in Villa’s home clash against West Ham, after Mings had furiously lambasted the Dutchman for failing to track his opponent back.

Both stars then went head-to-head, with El Ghazi seemingly aiming a headbutt at the former Bournemouth centre half.

The two team-mates had to be separated by home midfielder Marvelous Nakamba and Mings’ defensive partner Bjorn Engels before the situation escalated.

Footage broadcasted on Monday night shows Mings furiously pointing a finger in the face of El Ghazi, before the wide man appears to shout back: “Shut up”. 

The incident was then referred to VAR and a check for a potential red card was carried out — although El Ghazi was surprisingly spared being handed his marching orders.

Referee Mike Dean gave the pair a dressing down and waved play to continue, although the 24-year-old Dutch international could still face retrospective action from his club.

But after the goalless clash, Villa’s manager Dean Smith was unmoved by what happened.

“I didn’t need to deal with it, the players dealt with it,” said Smith. 

“It was dealt with by the players in the dressing room and I’m happy for that to happen, that’s the spirit in the dressing room.

“Things happen in team sport in the heat of the moment and it was sorted very quickly. At half-time they spoke about it, shook hands and we move on.”

Villa captain Jack Grealish also played down the spat and insisted the two players had made up.

He said: “It’s all handbags. Ty was saying Anwar didn’t track his runner, but it was all put to bed, they shook hands. We said as soon as we leave this dressing room, everyone’s together.”

Villa boss Dean Smith and assistant John Terry had been spotted looking disgruntled on the sideline following the bust-up. — dailyonline.