Police say 39 arrests were made and four officers were injured during “disgusting” clashes with Legia Warsaw fans on Thursday night.
Missiles were thrown at police as Legaa fans were held in a coach park near Villa Park ahead of their side’s game against Aston Villa, which the hosts won 2-1.
The match did start on time but no Legia fans were allowed into the stadium ahead of kick-off. Legia accused Villa of reneging on their agreement regarding the away ticket allocation, but Villa said the decision was made over safety concerns.
After the match, West Midlands Police released a statement reading: “We’ve made more than 30 arrests as officers were injured during serious disorder involving away fans outside Villa Park this evening.
“We were faced with disgusting and highly dangerous scenes as trouble flared ahead of the fixture between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw.
Legia fans were not allowed into Villa Park before kick-off
“We had a significant policing presence in place because of safety concerns. This stemmed from visiting fans having been involved in previous matchday disorder.
“Tonight’s disorder is believed to have sparked when tickets were not distributed by the away club to supporters outside the ground, as had been anticipated.
“The away allocation had been reduced to 1,000 tickets on the joint recommendation of the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), working alongside Aston Villa and supported by UEFA.
“The SAG is made up of emergency services, local authority departments and transport who assess the health, safety and welfare of those involved with public events to offer advice and guidance to organisers.
“During the disorder four officers were injured – with one taken to hospital – along with two police horses and two police dogs as missiles including flares were thrown towards them. Thankfully their injuries are not believed to be serious.
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Danyal Khan and Adam Bate discuss the ugly scenes of Legia Warsaw fans clashing with the police before Aston Villa progressed to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League
“This led to away fans not being allowed into the stadium due to safety concerns, and a significant number of arrests were made.
“We kept a police presence in and around the stadium, and this remains in the surrounding city centre to maintain the safety of everyone.
“We’ve so far made 39 arrests on suspicion of offences including violent disorder and assaulting a police officer and they have been taken into custody for questioning. We will further review all available footage to identify perpetrators.”
Chief inspector Tim Robinson, the match commander, added: “This should have been a great evening of football which was enjoyed by fans from both clubs.
“Unfortunately, there were appalling scenes which saw away fans dangerously throw flares and other missiles at our officers.
“We were there to help keep people safe, yet officers’ own safety was put at risk because of the deplorable actions of others.
“Due to the extreme violence, there was no other choice but to prevent away fans entering the stadium. The safety of everyone is our priority and clearly we had no other option.
“There can never be a place for such appalling behaviour and this is something ourselves and the wider community should never have to experience.”
A Villa statement during the match read: “Aston Villa can confirm no away fans were allowed into Villa Park for this evening’s Europa Conference League fixture with Legia Warsaw on the advice of West Midlands Police following large-scale disorder outside the stadium caused by visiting supporters,” read Villa’s statement.
“The UK safety authorities, UEFA and Aston Villa communicated on November 2 that the ticket allocation for away fans for this fixture would be reduced to 1,002 on the advice of safety authorities as a result of previous large-scale disorder caused by Legia fans last month at AZ Alkmaar.
“A number of Dutch police officers were injured during that disorder. As a consequence, UEFA banned Legia supporters from travelling to Mostar for their game against HSK Zrinjski.
“In spite of numerous requests for cooperation from Legia Warsaw concerning their travelling supporters, especially in the last two days, no assistance on the serious safety matter of away fans attending Villa Park was forthcoming from the visiting club.
“The club has repeatedly, including this morning, raised concerns in conjunction with UEFA and all the relevant authorities to Legia that ticketless away supporters were attempting to attend Villa Park.
“Approximately an hour before kick-off, Legia fans engaged in planned and systematic violent acts against West Midlands Police officers and a decision was then made by West Midlands Police to exclude all Legia supporters.
“Aston Villa strongly condemns the behaviour of those visiting supporters and would like to thank West Midlands Police for their professionalism in very difficult circumstances.”
Stewards removed several people believed to be away supporters from the home stands during the match, while footage on social media appeared to show objects being thrown into the stadium from outside.
The away section remained empty at kick-off
In their own statement, Legia said the club’s official delegation, owner and president refused to enter Villa Park in solidarity with their supporters, while they also complained about the ticketing situation.
“As per UEFA competition regulations, visiting fans are entitled to a ticket allocation equivalent to five per cent of the stadium’s capacity,” said the Polish side. “For matches hosted at the grounds of Aston Villa, this translates to a pool of 2,100 tickets.
“Legia Warsaw, as the visiting contingent, made a formal request for this allocation but was met with an unwelcome rejection.”
The statement added the two clubs agreed an allocation of 1,700 tickets for away supporters on September 21 but Legia claimed that number was slashed by 50 per cent on November 20, adding Aston Villa “blatantly disregarded the prior agreements”.
“Faced with this untenable situation, Legia Warsaw has lodged repeated appeals with Aston Villa, urging them to honour the regulations set forth on September 21,” the statement continued.
“In light of the breach of UEFA regulations and to address this pressing issue, Legia Warsaw decided to dispatch its representatives to England well in advance of the Europa Conference League match.
“These representatives engaged in intensive negotiations with all relevant stakeholders, articulating the club’s unwavering stance on allowing fans access while ensuring matchday security.
“In addition, today, we have been obstructed from obtaining VIP tickets for our sponsors and team guests in line with the existing UEFA standards.”