Police affirm 46 away followers arrested after horror scenes at Villa Park
- There had been clashes between police and Legia Warsaw followers in Birmingham
- The ugly scenes led to 39 arrests and one officer was engulfed in flames
- We anticipated perfection from VAR – we have not bought it: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Police have confirmed that 46 away supporters have been arrested after violent scenes marred Aston Villa‘s 2-1 win over Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
Polish soccer hooligans brought on havoc final night time as followers set a police officer on hearth and injured three others whereas launching flares earlier than dealing with the Midlands membership within the Europa League.
One officer who was engulfed by flames after being hit by a flare suffered burns and has since been recovering in hospital.
Dudley Police launched a press release on Friday morning to offer an replace on the arrests, revealing all of the suspects held in custody are away followers and that 4 of the people had been carrying knives.
‘We’ve now bought 46 folks in custody following final night time’s violence involving away followers exterior Villa Park,’ police confirmed.
Football hooligans from Polish aspect Legia Warsaw attacked cops exterior Villa Park
One police officer was hit by a flare thrown by the hooligans and was engulfed by flames
The officer was taken to hospital and handled for burns – with police now confirming that 46 away supporters have been held in custody following the violent scenes exterior the stadium
‘Officers confronted 90 minutes of sustained violence, and 4 had been injured. We’re pleased with our officers, and thank Aston Villa followers for his or her assist.
‘Of the suspects, 41 of these had been arrested for violent dysfunction, 4 for possession of a knife/offensive weapon, and 4 for assaulting emergency employees.
‘All of these arrested are away followers, and we’ll be working laborious to cost and remand these suspects the place we are able to at present.’
UEFA additionally launched a press release on Friday, which learn: ‘UEFA strongly condemns the unacceptable violence which occurred across the Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw match.
‘UEFA is within the technique of gathering all official experiences from the sport earlier than deciding on potential subsequent steps.’
Away followers had been refused entry into the stadium on account of the violence, with some managing to launch containers of beer into the house finish from exterior.
A small group had been capable of break in and could possibly be heard cheering from behind a wall when Legia scored a purpose.
All of the Polish followers had been refused entry into the stadium following the disgraceful scenes
Police horses watch on as officers in riot gear confront the group of thugs in Birmingham
A police horse raises its entrance legs throughout the hassle exterior Villa Park on Thursday night time
Police informed the general public to steer clear of Witton Lane as violence escalated to excessive ranges
Legia supporters let off flares as they had been penned in by the wall of native cops
West Midlands Police launched an extra assertion shortly earlier than midnight which confirmed that they had arrested 39 folks – a quantity that has now risen to 46 with all being away followers
West Midlands Police hit out on the ‘disgusting and extremely harmful scenes’, as did UEFA
Legia Warsaw followers had been stopped from going into the stadium following the chaos and unrest
Police revealed on Friday that 4 Legia followers had been carrying knives of offensive weapons
Birmingham Police confirmed three officers had been injured following the ugly scenes
A police officer helps an injured colleague away from the violent and harmful scenes
Legia Warsaw followers pelting Aston Villa supporters with projectiles from exterior Villa Park
One man was seen with a cup containing liquid that he then threw on the Aston Villa followers
The followers pressured their manner in after West Midland’s Police posted on social media that they weren’t letting any Legia followers contained in the stadium.
The police tweeted: ‘We’re currently unable to allow away fans into Villa Park following disorder outside the stadium which has seen missiles thrown at officers.
‘Three officers have already been injured & a significant policing operation continues. Please avoid Witton Lane where possible.’
The match commander, Chief Inspector Tim Robinson, 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.’
Mail Sport understands that Legia were unhappy with their reduced allocation after Villa reduced their ticket allocation to just 890 based on advice from the police and Safety Advisory Group.
The Polish side had already had their away allocation reduced to 1,000 amid fears of disorder
A group of police officers line up outside Villa Park in preparation of the suspected unrest
UEFA rules allow the visiting team five per cent of the stadium’s capability, which might equal 2,100 tickets at Villa Park.
In an official assertion from Legia, they accused Villa of refusing to allocate tickets to away followers in accordance with UEFA rules for a UEFA Europa Conference League match.
‘Instead of diffusing potential pre-match tensions, restrictive measures of Aston Villa F.C. because the host membership needlessly exacerbate the ambiance. In our view, such measures are counterproductive and unfounded,’ they wrote.
‘In a latest growth, Aston Villa FC has firmly declined to stick to UEFA competitors rules by refusing to allocate the stipulated pool of tickets for visiting supporters.
‘Legia Warsaw had put ahead a compromise answer, proposing an allocation of 1,700 tickets for his or her loyal supporters—a determine mirroring the quantity allotted to English membership followers journeying to Warsaw. This proposal was formally accepted and duly documented within the UEFA delegate’s report, dated September 21.
There had been no away followers inside Villa Park consequently when the sport bought underway at 8pm
Villa followers had been seen trying over a wall at Legia followers that had managed to interrupt into Villa Park
Some had been contained in the stadium to rejoice Legia Warsaw’s first half equaliser in opposition to Villa
‘In gentle of this settlement, Legia Warsaw’s supporters commenced their preparations for the journey throughout the English Channel, incurring numerous prices, together with airline tickets and lodge reservations.
‘However, on November 2, Legia Warsaw obtained an sudden and revised choice relating to the ticket allocation, which blatantly disregarded the prior agreements. The variety of tickets was slashed to a mere 890, representing a staggering discount of over 50%.
‘Faced with this untenable state of affairs, Legia Warsaw has lodged repeated appeals with Aston Villa F.C., urging them to honour the rules set forth on September 21.’
Villa hit again with a press release of their very own later within the night, condemning the violent scenes on the streets exterior their stadium.
Villa mentioned: ‘Aston Villa Football Club can affirm that no away followers had been allowed into Villa Park for this night’s UEFA Europa Conference League fixture with Legia Warsaw on the recommendation of West Midlands Police following large-scale dysfunction exterior the stadium brought on by visiting supporters.
‘The UK security authorities, UEFA and Aston Villa, communicated on November 2 that the ticket allocation for away followers for this fixture could be decreased to 1,002 on the recommendation of security authorities on account of earlier large-scale dysfunction brought on by Legia followers final month at AZ Alkmaar.
‘Quite a few Dutch cops had been injured throughout that dysfunction. As a consequence, UEFA banned Legia supporters from travelling to Mostar for his or her sport in opposition to HSK Zrinjski.
‘In spite of quite a few requests for cooperation from Legia Warsaw regarding their travelling supporters, particularly within the final two days, no help on the intense security matter of away followers attending Villa Park was forthcoming from the visiting membership.
‘The membership has repeatedly, together with this morning, raised considerations along side UEFA and all of the related authorities to Legia that ticketless away supporters had been trying to attend Villa Park.’
Legia supporters had made their manner in direction of Villa Park forward of kick-off, however had been met with a barrier and a wall of cops sporting helmets with visors to guard themselves.
The followers appeared to develop pissed off and flares had been let off as they had been penned in by the police.
On the pitch, Villa avenged their earlier group defeat in Poland by beating Legia 2-1 due to targets from Moussa Diaby and Alex Moreno.
After the sport, Legia supervisor Kosta Runjaic refused to be drawn on the occasions that occurred exterior Villa Park.
‘I believe its a unique matter, it isn’t my enterprise. I’ve been in a giant focus to guide the staff,’ he mentioned.
Legia supervisor Kosta Runjaic refused to sentence the actions of the away followers after the sport
‘We represented Polish soccer in a great way, all different issues exterior the stadium I do not wish to remark.
‘We have nice followers, they assist us dwelling and away. We can at all times depend on them. So far since I’ve been at Legia I’ve had a superb expertise with our followers. I do not know the content material of all of it occurring.
‘I do not know the small print, which is why it is higher I do not converse an excessive amount of about it. Unfortunately our followers weren’t within the stadium and the ambiance would have been higher.
‘It’s not in regards to the followers, it is a pity however we will not change it.’