Aston Villa Match Disrupted By Fan, Police Clash

Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match against Legia Warsaw was nearly derailed when a violent clash between fans and police officers resulted in 39 people being arrested last night, Thursday 30 November.

The altercation took place in the coach park near Villa Park Stadium in Birmingham, England when fans of the visiting team became frustrated that they were only allocated 1 000 seats due to prior disruptions.

The Polish side called Villa’s decision to restrict the number of seats “counterproductive and baseless” and threatened to have the club’s owner and other senior executives boycott the match in protest. However, the hosts were unwilling to budge.

West Midlands Police attempted to gain control of the unruly crowd of over 2 000 people, but were met with projectiles and flares being thrown at the officers, four of whom were injured. Two police horses and two police dogs were also hurt, according to reports.

“This should have been a great evening of football which was enjoyed by fans from both clubs,” Chief Inspector Tim Robinson said in a statement released via Twitter later that same evening.

Despite the disruption, Aston Villa still claimed a 2-1 victory over Legia Warsaw.

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