46 PEOPLE IN POLICE CUSTODY AFTER THURSDAY CLASHES IN BIRMINGHAM BETWEEN POLICE AND LEGIA WARSAW FANS
A total of 46 people are now in police custody following pregame clashes between fans at Villa Park on Thursday night ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match against Polish side Legia Warsaw, UK police confirmed on Friday.
Villa won the game 2-1 on the night and advanced to the knockout stages of the competition but their win was overshadowed by the disorder caused by visiting fans that took place prior to kickoff. Police said they were faced with “disgusting and highly dangerous scenes” that resulted in injuries to four police officers.
West Midlands Police confirmed in a statement that they were subjected to 90 minutes of “sustained violence” as their officers were attacked with flares.
“Officers contained and dispersed away fans outside the ground before the Aston Villa vs Legia Warsaw game, but were subjected to 90 minutes of sustained violence,” the statement read. “No home fans were arrested and there were no issues from Aston Villa supporters at any point.”
“Four officers were injured in the disorder, which saw them attacked with flares. One officer’s jacket caught fire after they were hit with a flare. Fortunately his jacket was removed quickly and he was not injured, though he was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.”
The four injured officers included two police horses and two police dogs whose injuries are not thought to be serious, as per Sky Sports News.
It’s believed that the unrest started when tickets weren’t distributed by Legia Warsaw to its supporters outside the ground as had been anticipated. UK safety authorities, UEFA and Aston Villa communicated to the public on Nov. 2 – over four weeks before the game – that the ticket allocation for away fans for this fixture would be reduced to 1,002 on the advice of safety authorities following a previous incident with Legia Warsaw fans.
West Midlands Police said “significant police presence” was needed at the stadium because of safety concerns due to the fact that the visiting fans had been involved in previous match day disorder.
Legia Warsaw fans were also involved in similar skirmishes at Dutch side Az Alkmaar last month where some of the fans attacked local police before the match, knocking one officer in riot gear unconscious. Two of Warsaw’s players were also arrested after injuring some of Az Alkmaar’s staff members.
The incidents in Alkmaar resulted in UEFA banning Legia supporters from traveling to Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina, for the team’s game against HŠK Zrinjski. Warsaw fans were also subsequently prevented from accessing Villa Park due to the clashes last night on the advice of West Midlands Police, Aston Villa confirmed this morning.
UEFA released a curt statement on Friday condemning Thursday’s violence. “UEFA strongly condemns the unacceptable violence which occurred around the Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw match,” the statement read. “UEFA is in the process of gathering all official reports from the game before deciding on potential next steps.”
Aston Villa said it has “repeatedly” raised concerns – and did so again this morning – in conjunction with UEFA and all relevant authorities to Legia that ticketless away fans were attempting to attend the stadium, with the club terming the actions of Legia Warsaw fans yesterday as “planned and systematic”.
“This should have been a great evening of football which was enjoyed by fans from both clubs,” the match’s Chief Inspector Tim Robinson said. “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 behavior, and this is something ourselves and the wider community should never have to experience.”
The hosts, Aston Villa, lodged an official complaint with UEFA this morning and have alleged that Legia Warsaw club officials showed a complete lack of cooperation throughout the day, refusing to confirm if they would accept their allocation of tickets for the match, a decision that was made weeks before.
Chris Heck, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa, said: “The lack of cooperation and prevarication from Legia Warsaw officials prior to the match was entirely unacceptable and deeply disappointing. This behavior increased the danger that West Midlands Police officers and our own fans were subjected to before the game and the scenes of disorder from the Legia fans have no place in modern football or civilized society.”
“Aston Villa will be making further representations to UEFA in order to ensure that other clubs and police forces across Europe are not exposed to similar serious safety risks at the hands of Legia Warsaw.”
Heck said he was “immensely grateful” to West Midlands Police for keeping Villa supporters and the local community safe last night and confirmed that West Midlands Police will also be making their own representations via the UK police authorities to UEFA.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Ronnie Macdonald. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.