No one will remember Aston Villa’s victory over Legia Warsaw for the football after an evening of chaos at Villa Park. For the record, it was 2-1 to the home team but it was events off the pitch that will linger in the memory.
Legia supporters were barred from entering the stadium following what West Midlands police described as “disgusting and highly dangerous scenes”.
Forty-six arrests were made for a variety of offences, including violent disorder and assaulting police officers. West Midlands police say they will further review all available footage to identify the perpetrators, with four officers hurt and one being taken to hospital. Two police horses and two dogs were injured, with objects, including flares, thrown in their direction. All injuries are believed not to be serious.
Chief Inspector and match commander Tim Robinson said: “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.”
Legia supporters had been penned inside the car park on Witton Lane, situated between the North Stand and the Doug Ellis Stand, as kick-off approached. Police were armed with riot shields and batons with tensions quickly escalating.
(James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
Both clubs have painted a contrasting picture behind the reasons for the trouble and what transpired on Thursday evening. The Athletic explains the initial disagreement and a timeline of events…
Going into the game, Villa and Legia were level on nine points after four UEFA Conference League group-stage matches. Victory for either would leave them in the driving seat to finish top of the group and progress to the round of 16.
However, potential trouble was identified 28 days before the match, when the UK safety authorities, UEFA and Villa informed Legia that the ticket allocation available for visiting supporters would be reduced to 1,000 after “previous large scale disorder” last month away to AZ Alkmaar, having observed, as Villa’s statement describes, “a number of Dutch police officers” injured. UEFA subsequently banned Legia fans from travelling to Bosnia for their next away trip against HSK Zrinjski.
The quota for away supporters in UEFA competitions is five per cent of the stadium’s capacity, which would equate to 2,100 tickets at Villa Park. Legia say they applied for that number but were refused. There remains a disagreement between the two clubs as to how many tickets were given to Legia fans, with the Polish side stating it was 890.
The Athletic has spoken to local businesses in Alkmaar who allege Legia supporters left negative reviews on their relevant websites and attempted to damage the areas around the stadium. During the fixture, riots broke out with local police, prosecutors and AZ issued a statement condemning the behaviour.
Legia supporters strongly denied any wrongdoing and criticised what they perceived as an anti-Polish bias from Dutch authorities and media.
Similarly, Legia were deeply unhappy with the ticket reduction at Villa Park and claimed to have “repeatedly appealed”, asking Villa to comply with the previous compromised solution, agreed on September 21, of 1,700 tickets — the same number they gave Villa in the reverse fixture. In a club statement released on Thursday evening, Legia insist the “proposal was officially accepted and duly documented in the UEFA delegate’s report”.
A Legia statement read: “Rather than defuse potential pre-match tensions as the host club, they unnecessarily exacerbate the atmosphere. In our opinion, such measures are counterproductive and baseless.”
The UK authorities’ decision to reduce the ticket allocation sparked increasing fury among Legia fans this week. Despite a smaller quota, it is understood around 1,000 additional ticketless supporters travelled from Warsaw to Birmingham.
In the build-up, Legia declared they had sent representatives to England to negotiate with the relevant authorities and hoped to resolve the issue. Villa, though, insisted “no assistance on the serious safety matter of away fans attending Villa Park was forthcoming from the visiting club”.
A Villa statement, released at half-time on Thursday, read: “The club has repeatedly, including this morning (November 30), 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.”
There was a strong police presence around Villa Park from mid-afternoon. Dozens of police vans were parked on the roads outside the Trinity Road and Doug Ellis stands, with additional vehicles, including horseboxes, in the Holte End car park.
At 7.28pm, just over half an hour before kick-off, it was confirmed that Witton Lane — the road where Legia supporters were being funnelled by police and away from The Holte End — would be closed off for Villa supporters. Home fans requiring that route would need to access the stadium from a different turnstile, directed by club staff.
Legia fans were still not in the ground, instead being penned in the nearby car park. Sharp objects, including bits of tree and flares were being thrown, with police attempting to control the situation. Supporters, clad in black and some wearing balaclavas, attempted — a cluster successfully — to access the stadium via home turnstiles.
In their club statement, Legia claimed its official delegation, management board and owner and president Dariusz Mioduski decided against going into the stadium.
Just as the match was getting underway, the police confirmed no Legia supporters would be allowed in following disorder and missiles thrown at them. Pieces of equipment, including roadwork signs and debris, were trashed. Three officers had been injured while, in the police’s words, “a significant policing operation” continued.
The atmosphere inside the ground, meanwhile, was subdued. The away end remained empty with four rows of stewards standing in the area for the first 15 minutes of the game, before dispersing and moving elsewhere.
The empty away end (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Accepting Legia fans could not be allowed inside Villa Park, police attempted to shift Legia supporters away from the stadium. They walked back out of Witton Lane and towards The Holte End, when Villa supporters, situated between that stand and the neighbouring Trinity Road end, were able to see Legia supporters, some of whom were banging on the metal doors outside the ground.
“There were moments where Legia fans were being manhandled out all around the ground,” said Dom Smith, a Villa supporter sitting in The Holte Lower. “Other Villa fans were looking around thinking, ‘Is the guy next to me a Legia fan?’. It felt like it could erupt at any time. More people were looking out at Legia fans throwing bottles than watching the match.”
“Aston Villa apologises for the delay in entering the stadium due to safety reasons,” read the stadium announcer in the 19th minute, before repeating the same message a quarter of an hour later. “Due to safety reasons, no supporters will be able to visit the smoking area at half-time. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Legia’s equaliser, scored by forward Ernest Muci, provoked further disruption after a handful of Legia supporters had managed to get themselves into the ground via The North Stand and celebrated. They were quickly ejected, with heavily-equipped police forming a line and scanning the area for any more Legia supporters.
Despite Legia’s supporters largely dispersing and filtering away from Villa Park, The Athletic spoke to five visiting fans a few hundred yards away at half-time, standing outside the Trinity Road stand. They tucked their Legia scarves underneath their coats, with the increased police presence blocking roads. They initially claimed to have been Villa supporters.
“A steward started pushing me towards the exit at half-time and said he was escorting me out because I was an away fan,” said Patrick Edmond, a Villa supporter who sat in The Holte End. “His colleague figured he got the wrong guy — there was a bloke behind me all in black who was clearly a Legia fan. There were quite a few of them in the home end.
“Everyone was on edge a little bit. There was nobody there when we got out, though. From everything I saw, I don’t know what justified shutting them (Legia supporters) out completely.”
The scene outside Villa Park at 11pm (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Polish journalist Samuel Szczygielski, who witnessed the trouble, echoed a contrasting account from Legia’s perspective. He posted a photo of his bloodied left hand and insisted the police had been violent against away supporters. “The English are sick animals,” he tweeted. “Total brutality towards Legia fans.”
Legia coach Kosta Runjaic declined to comment on Legia’s fans being locked out, while counterpart Unai Emery offered a short response, attesting he only focused on Villa’s home atmosphere. Legia’s press officer Bartosz Zaslawski, however, told journalists that players had their concentration affected, stating they were thinking about their families getting into that ground, but that possibility was cancelled.”
Police vans only began to exit Villa Park after 11 pm, The Holte End still full with dozens of vehicles. Further ramifications of a deeply disturbing evening are to come.
UEFA released the following statement on Friday morning: “UEFA strongly condemns the unacceptable violence which occurred around the Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw match. UEFA is in the process of gathering all official reports from the game before deciding on potential next steps.”
(Top photo: David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
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