It was a Champions League debut to forget for Tyrone Mings.
The Aston Villa defender, returning from 14 months out with a knee injury, was being hailed pre-match for completing a journey from Chippenham Town to the Champions League.
He ended it making unwanted headlines after conceding one of the most bizarre penalties the competition will have ever seen.
Mings’ handball, when he was penalised for picking up Martinez’s goal-kick in the box, gifted Brugge a penalty, a 1-0 win, and led to Villa’s first European defeat of the campaign.
Villa manager Unai Emery was scathing of the error, calling it “the biggest mistake I witnessed in my career”.
BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton described it as a “brain freeze”, former Leeds forward Lucy Ward said on TNT it was a “shambles” and “farcical”, while ex-England striker Peter Crouch called it a “moment of madness”.
What actually happened?
There was initial confusion on 50 minutes when referee Tobias Stieler’s whistle stopped Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from taking a goal-kick.
The confusion only grew when he pointed towards the penalty spot – until the television replays showed what defender Mings had just done – as a video assistant referee (VAR) check confirmed the decision.
Martinez had tapped a goal-kick to Mings inside the penalty area but the former Ipswich defender simply picked the ball up.
Mings had clearly not realised the kick had already been taken and that the ball was in play. He was penalised for his error and Hans Vanaken stepped up to fire home what turned out to be the winner from the penalty spot.
It is not the first time the Champions League has seen such an incident but Arsenal escaped being punished against Bayern Munich in last season’s quarter-final first-leg.
In an almost identical incident, defender Gabriel handled a pass from David Raya inside the penalty area – again not realising his keeper had taken the goal-kick and that the ball was in play.
But the Gunners were allowed to take the kick again. Then Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel reacted furiously and said the referee had told his players he didn’t award the penalty because it was “a kid’s mistake”.
What did they say?
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery did not blame the referee for the decision, despite being involved in a lengthy discussion with officials during the match.
He said: “We played a good first half. The second half the mistake changed everything. The key was the mistake we made.
“His mistake is completely strange. It’s only happened one time in all my life.”
Villa defender Ezri Konsa, added: “It is part of football. Our first loss in the Champions League and we have to move on, we cant be too down about it.
“I didn’t see it, I just saw the players running to the referee saying handball.
“It kills the game. If it is a handball, a deliberate one, why not give give him a second yellow? It is a mistake but we have to learn from it.”
Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock said on BBC Sport: “Arsenal got away with doing the same thing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season – maybe this time the referee has seen that the Brugge players are closing Mings down?
“I don’t think Tyrone Mings has looked at Emi Martinez at all when he took the goal-kick, which is why he thinks he can pick it up because he does not know it has been taken.”
Sutton, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, said: “That’s ridiculous. It is crazy from Mings, absolutely crazy.
“What is he thinking? It’s a brain freeze from Mings. Tyrone Mings might have done it when he was three.”
Crouch added on TNT: “It was very, very bizarre.
“Even if you don’t think it is live, you don’t put your hand on it. It is a moment of madness. The moment he did it we all shouted that was a penalty.”
From Chippenham to Champions League
It was a nightmare end to what had begun as a dream evening for Villa’s 31-year-old defender Mings who became the first Englishman to concede a penalty on his Champions League debut.
The former Ipswich and Bournemouth defender was making his first appearance in the competition, having only recently returned from 14 months out with a cruciate ligament injury.
The England international was taken off for Pau Torres just 14 minutes later, but Villa were unable to recover as their perfect start to the Champions League was ended.
The Villans have nine points from four Champions League matches though, and with four more left they remain in with a good chance of qualification for the last-16.
Mings joined Ipswich Town in 2012 for £10,000 from Southern League club Chippenham Town.
Two years later he moved to Bournemouth for £8m before joining Aston Villa for £20m in 2019.
