Aston Villa 1-0 Leeds: Fans furious with John McGinn for rough challenge that injured 16-year-old

Archie Gray, 16, had to be stretchered off in a pre-season friendly between Aston Villa and Leeds after John McGinn put in a reckless challenge on the youngster.

The two Premier League sides clashed in Brisbane on July 17 as part of their Australian tour.

Aston Villa ran out 1-0 winners at the Suncorp Stadium courtesy of a Danny Ings penalty but the talking points from the game were on anything but the score line.

The 40, 918 fans that attended the encounter were treated to plenty of entertainment as players from both sides steamed into tackles from the off.

Several players put in heavy challenges that are rarely seen in pre-season games, as whilst there is an obvious desire to win, the competitive edge is usually slightly reduced.

But in this case, it was simply no holds barred.

Tensions threatened to boil over when McGinn put in a particularly brutal challenge on Gray in 69th minute.

The typically tenacious Scotsman was contesting for the ball in the middle of the park, hunting down multiple Leeds opponents in possession.

Upon snatching the ball back, he produced a lovely backheel flick into the feet of Aaron Ramsey, the younger brother of Jacob Ramsey, who also plays for the club.

Ramsey mirrored McGinn, producing an almost identical flick back into his teammate’s path.

However, with the ball being slightly overhit, the young Leeds star Gray got there at a near identical time.

Neither player backed down, and with Gray just reaching the ball ahead of McGinn, he felt the full force of the 27-year-old’s studs as they went straight into his ankle.

View the video below…

John McGinn goes for a 50/50 ball, wins the ball, but his momentum means he follows through on a Leeds player. what part of that is