Nobody will remember Aston Villa’s victory over Legia Warsaw in football terms after a night of chaos at Villa Park. For the record, it was 2-1 for the home team, but it was the events off the pitch that will be remembered.
Legia supporters were refused entry to the stadium after West Midlands Police described “disgusting and extremely dangerous scenes”.
There were 46 arrests for various crimes, including violent disorder and assault against police officers. West Midlands Police said it would continue to review all available footage to identify the perpetrators. Four police officers were injured and one was taken to hospital. Two police horses and two dogs were injured, with objects including flares being thrown in their direction. All injuries are not believed to be serious.
Chief Inspector and match commander Tim Robinson said: “This should have been a great night of football enjoyed by fans of both clubs.” Unfortunately, there were horrific scenes with fans dangerously throwing flares and other missiles at our officers. We were there to keep people safe, but officers’ own safety was jeopardized by the deplorable actions of others.
“Due to the extreme violence, we had no choice but to prevent away fans from entering the stadium. Everyone’s safety is our top priority and we obviously had no other choice. There can never be a place for such appalling behavior and it is something we ourselves and the wider community should never experience.”
As kick-off approached, Legia supporters were crammed into the Witton Lane car park between the North Stand and the Doug Ellis Stand. Police were armed with riot shields and batons and tensions quickly escalated.
(James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
Both clubs paint a contrasting picture of the reasons for the problems and what happened 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 games in the UEFA Conference League group stage. A win for both would give them the lead and secure them top spot in the group and a place in the round of 16.
However, potential problems were identified 28 days before the game when British security authorities, UEFA and Villa Legia informed that the number of tickets available to away fans would be reduced to 1,000 following “major disturbances” at the away game against AZ Alkmaar last month was. As Villa describes in his statement, he observed that “a number of Dutch police officers” were injured. UEFA then banned Legia fans from traveling to Bosnia for their next away game against HSK Zrinjski.
The quota for away fans in UEFA competitions is five percent of stadium capacity, which would equate to 2,100 tickets at Villa Park. Legia says they applied for this number but were rejected. There remains disagreement between the two clubs over how many cards were distributed to Legia fans. The Polish side stated that there were 890.
The Athletic has spoken to local businesses in Alkmaar who claim Legia supporters have left negative reviews on their respective websites and attempted to damage the areas around the stadium. Riots broke out during the game, with local police, prosecutors and AZ issuing a statement condemning the behavior.
Legia supporters strongly denied any wrongdoing and criticized what they said was the anti-Polish bias of the Dutch authorities and media.
Likewise, Legia was deeply dissatisfied with the ticket reduction at Villa Park, claiming it had “repeatedly appealed” and asked Villa to stick to the previous compromise solution of 1,700 tickets agreed on September 21 – the same number they gave Villa in reverse had device. In a club statement released on Thursday evening, Legia stressed that “the proposal was officially accepted and duly documented in the report of the UEFA delegate”.
A statement from Legia said: “Instead of defusing potential tensions before the game as host club, they unnecessarily aggravate the atmosphere. “In our opinion, such measures are counterproductive and unfounded.”
The British authorities’ decision to reduce the ticket quota sparked increasing anger among Legia fans this week. Despite a lower quota, it is estimated that around 1,000 additional fans traveled from Warsaw to Birmingham without a ticket.
Legia said in advance that it had sent representatives to England to negotiate with the relevant authorities and hoped to resolve the problem. However, Villa insisted that “the visiting club had not provided any assistance in the serious security issue of away fans visiting Villa Park”.
A Villa statement released at half-time on Thursday said: “The club has repeatedly, including this morning (November 30th), in collaboration with UEFA and all relevant authorities, raised concerns with Legia about away fans being ticketed tried to visit Villa Park. Approximately an hour before kick-off, Legia fans committed planned and systematic acts of violence against West Midlands Police officers, following which West Midlands Police decided to expel all Legia fans.
“Aston Villa strongly condemns the behavior of the visiting fans and would like to thank West Midlands Police for their professionalism in very difficult circumstances.”
From the afternoon onwards there was a heavy police presence around Villa Park. Dozens of police cars were parked on the streets outside Trinity Road and the Doug Ellis stands, with other 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 escorted away from The Holte End by police – would be closed to Villa supporters. Home fans requiring this route would have to access the stadium via another turnstile managed by club staff.
Legia fans were still not in the ground but were crammed into the nearby car park. Sharp objects, including pieces of trees and flares, were thrown and police tried to control the situation. Fans dressed in black, some wearing balaclavas, tried – a group successfully – to gain entry to the stadium via home turnstiles.
In their club statement, Legia claimed that the official delegation, the board and the owner and president Dariusz Mioduski had decided against entering the stadium.
Just as the match began, police confirmed that Legia supporters would not be allowed entry due to the riots and rockets thrown at them. Equipment, including road construction signs and debris, was destroyed. Three officers were injured while, as police put it, “a significant police operation” was ongoing.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the ground was subdued. For the first 15 minutes of the game, the away end remained empty, with four rows of stewards standing in the area before dispersing and moving elsewhere.
The empty away game (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Since Legia fans were not allowed into Villa Park, the police tried to keep Legia fans away from the stadium. They walked back out of Witton Lane and towards The Holte End when Villa supporters, who were between that stand and the neighboring Trinity Road end, could see Legia supporters, some of whom were banging on the metal doors outside the ground.
“There were moments when Legia fans were abused all over the pitch,” said Dom Smith, a Villa supporter sitting in The Holte Lower. “Other Villa fans looked around and thought: ‘Is the guy next to me a Legia fan?'” It felt like it could break out at any time. More people watched the Legia fans throwing bottles than watched the game.”
“Aston Villa apologizes for the delay in entry into the stadium due to security reasons,” read the stadium announcer in the 19th minute, before repeating the same message a quarter of an hour later. “For safety reasons, no fans will be able to visit the smoking area during half-time. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Legia’s equalizer, scored by striker Ernest Muci, caused further unrest after a handful of Legia supporters managed to make their way into the stadium via the north stand and celebrate. They were quickly dispersed and heavily equipped police officers lined up and searched the area for more Legia supporters.
Although Legia fans largely dispersed and wandered away from Villa Park, The Athletic spoke to five away fans standing a few hundred meters away in front of the Trinity Road stand at half-time. They tucked their Legia scarves under their coats as the increasing police presence blocked streets. 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 fan who was sitting in The Holte End. “His colleague thought he had got the wrong guy – there was a guy behind me all in black who was clearly a Legia fan. There were quite a few of them in the home game.
“Everyone was a little nervous. However, when we got out, no one was there. From what I have seen, I don’t know what justified excluding them (Legia supporters) completely.”
The scene outside Villa Park at 11pm (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Polish journalist Samuel Szczygielski, who witnessed the riots, repeated a contrasting report from Legia’s perspective. He posted a photo of his bloody left hand and insisted police had used violence against away fans. “The English are sick animals,” he tweeted. “Complete brutality towards Legia fans.”
Legia coach Kosta Runjaic declined to comment on the exclusion of Legia fans, while his counterpart Unai Emery gave a short answer, confirming he was only focused on Villa’s home atmosphere. However, Legia’s press spokesman Bartosz Zaslawski told journalists that the players’ concentration was affected and explained that they thought that their families would go to the ground, but this possibility was discarded.”
Police cars only started leaving Villa Park after 11pm, while The Holte End was still filled with dozens of vehicles. Further consequences of this deeply disturbing evening will follow.
UEFA released the following statement on Friday morning: “UEFA strongly condemns the unacceptable violence that occurred around the Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw match. UEFA is in the process of collecting all official reports on the match before deciding on possible next steps.”
(Top photo: David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)