On 13 December 2018, Aston Villa suspended MacDonald after allegations of bullying from ex-midfielder Gareth Farrelly. Farrelly gave an interview to the Guardian newspaper where he described MacDonald as being "relentlessly negative" to him in the 1990s. Furthermore, Farrelly claimed MacDonald was "incredibly aggressive, with constant verbal and physical bullying". Other players came forward to give information including Greg Walters a trainee at Aston Villa between 1998 and 2000. Villa initiated an internal investigation and MacDonald was temporarily reassigned to non-player facing duties.