Aston Villa boss Dean Smith: Tyrone Mings victim of 'witch hunt'
Villa boss Dean Smith believes Tyrone Mings has been the victim of a “witch hunt” following the gruesome facial injury sustained by Nelson Oliveira.
The Reading striker required surgery for a broken nose and facial lacerations following a collision with Villa’s Mings during last weekend’s 0-0 draw at the Madejski Stadium.
Though the FA did not to take any action against Mings, the on loan Bournemouth defender has faced criticism from both former players and Oliveira’s wife, who questioned why he had not been sanctioned for what she viewed as a deliberate stamp.
Mings was banned for five matches in March 2017 after being found guilty of stamping on Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, something he has always maintained was an accident.
And Smith, who believes the incident with Oliveira was a “total accident”, believes that has helped fuel the furore on social media over recent days.
He said: “It felt to me like it became a bit of a witch hunt for somebody who was assumed to have stamped before because he got banned by the FA.
“Nobody knows if he stamped then. But for me this was a total accident.
“Sometimes in any contact sport accidents happen and that was one of them. I am absolutely convinced (it wasn’t deliberate).”
Dean Ashton and Dave Kitson were among the ex-players to criticise Mings, who was making his Villa debut following a deadline day switch from the Cherries.
Former referee Mark Halsey was also among those calling for the FA to take action.
Smith continued: “People look at the picture of his (Oliveira's) face after and think: 'I must have a look at that incident'.
“They slow it down and freeze frame it.
“Any incident in a football game, I could do the same and show you potential accidents.
“Anyone who was at the game last week will tell you. I didn’t know what had happened on the sideline. Their bench didn’t appeal, nobody in the stadium appealed, none of their players appealed.
“The nearest person to the incident was the referee, five or six yards away. He deemed it an accident and played on.
“The one who stopped the play because he saw what had happened and felt what had happened was Tyrone. He stopped the game to make sure (Oliveira) was OK.”
