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22nd January 2026
09:15pm GMT

Unai Emery has spoken out for the first time since a remarkable incident - in which he furiously pushed Youri Tielemans - as he was subbed off - in Aston Villa's 1-0 victory over Fenerbahce.
With the game drawing to a close, Villa were aiming to see out a priceless three points to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Six minutes left on the clock, Tielemans was substituted and reacted angrily to the decision from his gaffer Emery.
This though, prompted an even angrier reaction from Emery, who furiously pushed the Belgian midfield maestro.
After the match, Emery was quizzed on the team's performance and the interesting incident that arose.
"I’m so, so happy. "How we are building the team with some circumstances not helping us, trying to get balance in everything and focus on each match, with the opportunities we can have in the last week to complete our structure with the players we need.
“Asensio and Duran, they were here, competing with our level. We wanted to keep them in our team. They have a very good coach… we respect them.”
Then on the altercation, Emery instantly rushed to the defence of his player stating, "he's like like my son."
Since then, it has been reported that the manager and player hugged in the dressing room, with the matter seemingly resolved.