Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has criticised a reporter for disrespecting his girlfriend and fellow Villa star Alisha Lehmann. 

Swiss star Lehmann joined the club from West Ham in 2021 and has been dating Luiz since the end of last year. 

Lehmann, who boasts more than eight million Instagram followers and is sponsored by Adidas, has regularly been subject to sexist remarks related to her appearance. 

Recently, Milton Neves, a 71-year-old Brazilian TV host, shared a clip of Lehmann celebrating her goal against Man City in Villa’s opening match of the WSL season. 

Alongside the video, Neves wrote: "Without returning to the video, what number was on her shirt?"

What did Luiz say? 

The Brazilian midfielder was seemingly livid at Neves’ post and responded to the tweet by slamming the TV presenter. 

“You are old, (with) years in football and post a video that doesn't respect women's football nor the player who, in this case, is my girlfriend,” his reply read in English. 

He added: "You never learned what respect is! Damn!"

Luiz’s response has gained more than 100,000 likes and Neves’ original post has now been deleted. 

Villa's Luiz celebrates.

Soccer Football - Carabao Cup Second Round - Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa - University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton, Britain - August 23, 2022 Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

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Who is Alisha Lehmann? 

Lehmann is a Swiss professional footballer, who has played in the WSL for the past four seasons. 

The 23-year-old started her career at Youngs Boys Frauen in Switzerland, before moving to West Ham in 2018. 

Then coach, Matt Beard, was reportedly impressed with Lehmann’s performances at the 2018 U-19 European Championships, which Switzerland hosted. 

In her first season with the Hammers, Lehmann scored nine times and helped them reach the Women’s FA Cup final. 

Alisha Lehmann playing for Aston Villa

Alisha Lehmann

After a loan spell at Everton in 2021, the forward signed for Villa last year and helped the side avoid relegation. 

Lehmann is one of the most widely followed women’s footballers on social media and her large fanbase has led to her attracting interest from a number of brands. 

Aside from working with Adidas, Lehmann has also worked with EA Sports and Wholey. 

How are Aston Villa doing? 

Carla Ward’s Villa side have made a fine start to the WSL season –– winning both of their matches so far, including a 4-3 win against Man City. 

Rachel Daly has proved to be an inspired signing, while Lehmann is also in fine form. 

Meanwhile, Villa’s men’s team are not faring quite as well. Steven Gerrard’s side are 15th in the Premier League and have just seven points from seven games. 

However, they did win their most recent game against Southampton, thanks to a goal from Jacob Ramsey.