Paul Lambert: Christian Benteke did not throw a Mike Tyson punch... my daughter can punch harder

Heated incident happened during Aston Villa's 2-1 defeat by Tottenham

Christian Benteke is pushed by Roberto Soldado moments before he receives a red card (Getty Images)

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has downplayed the incident which saw striker Christian Benteke sent off for clashing with Ryan Mason during the 2-1 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday, saying that it was not a "Mike Tyson punch" and his "daughter can punch harder".

Benteke was shown his marching orders 25 minutes from time during the loss, with replays appearing to show the Belgium striker push his hand into Mason's face.

"You cannot condone what he did, but it is not like he threw a Mike Tyson punch," Lambert told BBC Sport.

"My daughter can punch harder."

Lambert added: "He was provoked. If you go back a frame in the video, you can see the lad puts his head into Christian's face. I can understand what Christian's done, even though I can't condone it."

Aston Villa 1 Tottenham 2 match report

Benteke was making his third start for Villa since returning from six months out with a ruptured Achilles tendon.