Tottenham and Aston Villa slapped with misconduct charge after FA Cup brawl | OneFootball

Ollie Watkins and Joao Palhinha were at the centre of the fracas

Tottenham and Villa have until Friday, January 16, to respond to the charge.

A mass brawl, including players and staff from both teams, was sparked on the pitch at full-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs crashed out of the FA Cup.

The brawl was initiated after Spurs midfielder Joao Palhinha pushed Ollie Watkins for celebrating in front of the away fans as Villa secured their place in the fourth round.

Villa players Morgan Rogers and Lamare Bogarde then intervened before players and staff streamed across the pitch to try to break up the altercation.

Asked about the incident in his post-match press conference, Spurs boss Thomas Frank accused Watkins, who walked into Palhinha before celebrating with the Villa fans, of being provocative.

A mass brawl followed Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat by Aston Villa

Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

“I don’t think so. I guess you have seen the situation through? I just saw it to be sure I saw what I saw. Of course, it’s all about keeping a cool head,” Frank said in his post-match press conference.

“The players gave everything, everything out there, (but) losing a tight game, season not going perfect and I think Ollie is very provoking.

“The way he is going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans, and he is walking into Joao, he can just easily walk around. I think everyone that has been in a competitive nature, that is difficult and can trigger things.”

Ollie Watkins has been accused of provoking Joao Palhinha at full time

AFP via Getty Images

Spurs, who were without captain Cristian Romero as he served a further one-game suspension following his sending off against Liverpool, contributed to a feisty encounter against Villa.

Palhinha, in particular, was guilty of a number of robust challenges, but Frank said he did not believe his side had a discipline problem.

“I think it's like you need to play with passion. And when you play with passion, then sometimes you play to the line. And sometimes a little bit borderline,” Frank continued.

“So, I see players with big passion that want to do very well for the club. And I think that's very important. And of course, you also need cool heads.”