More arrests made over disorder outside Villa Park

46 away fans remain in custody.

Author: Hannah RichardsonPublished 1st Dec 2023

West Midlands Police have now arrested 46 people following last night's violence involving away fans outside Villa Park.

Officers faced 90 minutes of sustained violence, and four were injured.

Of the suspects, 41 of those were arrested for violent disorder, four for possession of a knife or offensive weapon, and four for assaulting emergency workers.

All of those arrested are away fans and they remain in custody.

Assistant Chief Constable at West Midlands Police, Damian Barratt, said: "One of those injuries was as a result of being struck by a flare, which resulted one officers with burns to clothing and smoke inhalation.

"We established a serious policing operation. It was as a result of some concerns relating to prior disorder from Legia Warsaw at a game in Holland."

Hundreds of fans have been on social media speaking about what they saw and encountered at Villa Park.

Waseem Zaffar attended the match and saw the disorder unravel, he said: "I've been going to Villa for 30 years now, since I was a kid, and I've never seen anything like it.

"It was just unbelievable.

"I hope the officers that were injured recover as quick as possible and those people behind these attacks are brought to justice.

"The events of yesterday should never be near a football ground. I've been taking my eight-year-old to games and I've never been worried before, but yesterday my mind was elsewhere and I was thinking how am I going to get my son home, we only live walking distance away."

Police say they will "be working hard to charge and remand those suspects where they can today."

UEFA have strongly condemned "the unacceptable violence" which happened at the Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw match.

UEFA is in the process of gathering all official reports from the game before deciding on potential next steps.

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