Ex-FIFA ref spots key detail in Mason Greenwood vs Tyrone Mings incident that reveals who's 'to blame' for fight

A former FIFA referee has weighed in on who was responsible for the fight between Tyrone Mings and Mason Greenwood in Saturday night's friendly between Aston Villa and Marseille.

Villa played Roberto De Zerbi's side at the Stade de Velodrome in their penultimate pre-season friendly and suffered a 3-1 defeat.

Greenwood opened the scoring five minutes in before Villa skipper John McGinn equalised. Former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged a brace after returning to Marseille but the game's big talking point was a heated incident involving Mings and Greenwood.

Greenwood produced a late challenge on Amadou Onana after he had already passed the ball, needlessly kicking the Belgium international.

An incensed Onana got in the face of former Manchester United star Greenwood but the 23-year-old proceeded to laugh in his face.

That irked Villa defender Mings, who proceeded to grab Greenwood by the shirt in an angry manner. The two got into it before teammates eventually separated them and diffused the situation before it could escalate further.

Former FIFA referee reacts to Mings vs Greenwood spat

Mings received a yellow card for his actions but Keith Hackett, former official and PGMOL chief, believes the referee was at fault for not cautioning Greenwood as soon as his poor tackle was made.

"The Marseille player should have received a yellow card for the reckless challenge," Hackett told Villa News.

"At this point, if he had produced the card quickly, it may have prevented the act of retaliation by Mings.

“Mings adopted an aggressive approach and for this action, a yellow card is the correct outcome.

“It does not matter that it’s a friendly. If referees do not apply the law correctly in a pre-season friendly they risk a sanction.”

Speaking to the media, De Zerbi described the fixture as "heated" as he complained about Unai Emery expressing his frustration with some of the challenges from his players.

The Italian went on to say "there are never any friendly matches or training sessions".

Greenwood, a £26.7 million signing from United, did not address the incident directly and instead posted a series of images and media from the game on his official Instagram page.

Having scored 22 goals in 36 games last season, Greenwood is preparing for his second season with Marseille as they look forward to a return to the Champions League.

They begin their new campaign against Rennes on Friday 15 August.