Officers were denied access to the stadium by away supporters following the hurling of objects at them, according to West Midlands Police.
Before Aston Villa’s match against Legia Warsaw, “disgusting and highly dangerous scenes” resulted in the deaths of four police officers and 46 individuals in custody.
West Midlands Police stated that Polish supporters were not permitted to enter the stadium on Thursday evening. This was before the Europa Conference League match because they threw projectiles at officers.
Officers encountered “90 minutes of sustained violence” as the visiting supporters were detained in the coach park adjacent to the stadium.
Ticketing Controversy and Fan Backlash
During the match, stewards removed several individuals from the home stands who were believed to be away supporters, and social media footage appeared to show objects being hurled into the stadium from the outside.
In October, a safety advisory group suggested that the away supporter ticket allocation be reduced by one thousand. This followed incidents at the Netherlands-based match between Legia Warsaw and AZ Alkmaar.
Damian Barratt, assistant chief constable of the force, stated that this was “not well received by the club,” as supporters showed up in an attempt to obtain tickets that were not available to them.
He explained that although the away supporters were in an area designated as a ticket collection point. We aimed to ensure their secure admission with their tickets.
That became untenable and unattainable, as we could not maintain the same level of security because they needed permits.
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He stated that as soon as it became apparent that tickets would not be distributed to every fan. The atmosphere “quickly changed,” and the crowd “shifted its focus to the police officers.”
“This escalated rapidly into the deployment of missiles.” “Those flares, which constituted the missiles, were solid objects,” he continued, adding that he was pleased with the officers’ efforts to maintain order.
He said a flare penetrated his truck, causing smoke inhalation and garment blistering for one of our cops.
International Outcry and UEFA’s Stance
One of the injured officers was transported to the hospital, according to a police statement; two police horses and two police dogs were also injured in the “horrendous and extremely dangerous scenes.”
“Forty-one of the suspects were apprehended for violent disorder, four for possession of a knife or offensive weapon, and four for assaulting emergency personnel,” the force announced on X on Friday.
Each arrested suspect is an away fan, and we will file charges and remand them as soon as feasible.
Chief Inspector Tim Robinson remarked, “This football evening ought to have been a blast, and it was.” “Fans of both clubs relished the game.
Regrettably, there were distressing incidents in which away supporters hurled flares and other missiles at our officers.
Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “West Midlands Police handled tonight’s vile scenes outside Villa Park in an entirely appropriate manner”.
Extremely grateful to the brave officers who placed themselves in danger to ensure the safety of others.
UEFA will seize this opportunity to take decisive action immediately.
A statement from UEFA “strongly condemns the unacceptable violence” that transpired near the match was released.
UEFA stated that it is currently compiling all official reports from the match before determining possible subsequent actions.
Legia stated that their president, proprietor, and official delegation refused to enter Villa Park. They intended to support their fans and voice displeasure with the ticketing situation.
Aston Villa and Legia tied for first in Europa Conference League Group E before the match. The host team emerged victorious by a score of 2-1.
The eight teams that finish in second place advance automatically to round 16, whereas the eight that finish in first place engage in a playoff with the third-ranked teams from the Europa League groups.
