Aston Villa: Officer believed burnt in clashes with Legia Warsaw fans

1 Dec 2023

Four police officers sustained injuries during a confrontation with Legia Warsaw supporters near Villa Park.

A news story from the West Midlands has been reported by the BBC. The original story may have reported: "Police are investigating an incident that occurred on Birmingham's High Street at around midnight last night. A man in his thirties was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the police." The rewritten paragraph could say: BBC News in the West Midlands has shared an update on an event that took place on High Street in Birmingham yesterday at midnight. A male who is believed to be in his thirties was taken to receive medical attention for his injuries, which are not considered to be life-threatening. Authorities are encouraging anyone with valuable details to come forward to assist with the ongoing investigation.

According to Aston Villa supporters, chaos ensued ahead of the European match against Legia Warsaw.

During the confrontation with fans who had come to visit, four police officers were injured, and one of them reportedly sustained burns due to flares that were hurled towards the officers.

According to the authorities, the police were subjected tocontinuous violent behavior for a period of 90 minutes.

People who were watching the game in their own city also claimed that objects were thrown into the stadium in Birmingham from the surrounding area while law enforcement prevented fans from the opposing team from coming inside.

According to the West Midlands Police, a total of 46 individuals have been arrested and are now in custody.

Justin, who supports Villa, shared with BBC Radio WM that he was on his way to the stadium before the match started. As soon as he arrived at the car park near the north stand, chaos erupted all of a sudden.

"I looked in the opposite direction and suddenly flares were flung and objects were being hurled over the top. However, the police acted with immense speed in order to put an end to the situation," he expressed.

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Spectators reported that they witnessed flares being tossed outside the stadium, and according to their accounts, bottles were also thrown into Villa Park from adjacent streets.

One fan expressed that it was a frightening experience.

"I have never witnessed anything like this, it's quite frightening," stated Simon Osborn.

According to West Midlands Police, the officers had to deal with unpleasant and extremely hazardous situations, which caused one officer to be hospitalized.

According to Police Federation Chairman Rich Cooke, an officer may have sustained burns in the unrest that occurred on X.

A total of forty-one individuals were arrested for engaging in violent behavior. In addition, four individuals were arrested for carrying knives or other weapons deemed offensive, while another four were arrested for attacking emergency personnel. It's important to note that all of those arrested were supporters of the Polish team.

Phil Strickley witnessed fans throwing bottles into Villa's Holte End from outside the stadium. He reported that some of the bottles were taken from a burger van and used for throwing.

According to him, they were actually grabbing all of their ketchup bottles and throwing them towards the stadium, attempting to hit our supporters.

Villa managed to have their game in the Europa Conference League even though the Legia Warsaw fans were not allowed to enter Villa Park due to safety concerns.

Supporters of the Polish team attempted to enter forcefully and law enforcement officials wielding batons and shields were observed attempting to restore order to the vicinity.

The source of the image is from Waseem Zaffar.

Birmingham politician Waseem Zaffar attended the match accompanied by his child and stated that a few away supporters managed to enter the stadium.

During the game, Birmingham councillor Waseem Zaffar was present with his young son, aged eight. He reported that certain fans of the visiting team were able to make their way inside the stadium.

After their team scored, they quickly stood up, which led to some small fights breaking out. As a result, a number of individuals were asked to leave the game. This is what the speaker mentioned.

I was anxious during the entire game, constantly checking up on my son. It seemed like everyone in the stadium was more focused on what was happening outside of Villa Park rather than the match itself.

Not only did the four officers require medical attention, but also 10 individuals who were outside of the premises received treatment for trivial wounds, according to West Midlands Ambulance Service.

It is thought that the disturbance arose from the reduction of the allocated tickets for visiting fans to 1,000, following advice from the emergency services in the locality.

During the match, a few Legia Warsaw supporters managed to enter the Villa fan section but were later expelled.

Professor Clifford Stott, an authority on handling football fans, attended the match on behalf of Keele University.

"I saw some of the most severe chaos ever during tonight's Uefa competition. Legia Warsaw has some major problems to address, and I don't think Uefa can overlook this," he wrote on X.

Uefa, which is responsible for overseeing European football, expressed its strong condemnation of the violent behavior that occurred during the game.

A representative stated that Uefa is presently collecting all authorized records related to the match so as to determine what actions to take next.

Last month, there was a big commotion during the match between Legia Warsaw and AZ Alkmaar, which resulted in injuries to the Dutch police officers.

Aston Villa emerged victorious in the Thursday night's match, scoring 2 goals while the opposing team managed to score only one, all thanks to Alex Moreno's spectacular goal in the 58th minute.

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