Aston Villa: Three police officers injured after clashes with Legia Warsaw fans at Villa Park

November 30, 2023

Three police officers were injured after clashes with Legia Warsaw fans ahead of their Europa Conference League defeat at Aston Villa on Thursday.

Missiles were thrown at police as the visiting fans were held in the coach park near Villa Park ahead of the game, 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.

"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.

A Birmingham Police statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, before kick-off read: "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 and a significant policing operation continues. Please avoid Witton Lane where possible."

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."

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