Aston Villa suspend youth coach Kevin McDonald from player-facing duties after allegations of bullying

Aston Villa have suspended long-serving youth coach Kevin McDonald from working with players pending an investigation into allegations of bullying in the 1990s.

McDonald has spent the majority of his coaching career at the Birmingham club, working with the reserve and youth teams since 1995 and twice taking caretaker charge of the first team.

Gareth Farrelly, a former Villa graduate, accused McDonald of “incredibly aggressive, constant verbal and physical bullying” which left him feeling depressed and with suicidal thoughts, published in an interview with the Guardian, accusations which the newspaper passed on to the club.

Aston Villa informed the local authority designated officer, as well as the Football Association and EFL, and appointed a barrister to lead an independent investigation.

The club said in a statement: “The investigation will commence immediately and as a neutral act Kevin has been temporarily reassigned to non-player-facing duties pending completion of the investigation.”

McDonald has not commented on the allegations.