Three police officers were injured after Legia Warsaw fans were involved in violent clashes before their Europa Conference League game at Aston Villa on Friday (AEDT).
Flares and missiles were thrown at police as the Legia fans were held in a coach park near Villa’s stadium.
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The game started at its scheduled 2000 GMT time, but no Legia fans were allowed into Villa Park ahead of kick-off.
A Birmingham Police statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, read: “We’re currently unable to allow away fans into Villa Park following disorder outside the stadium which has seen missiles thrown at officers.
“Three officers have already been injured and a significant policing operation continues. Please avoid Witton Lane where possible.”
Aston Villa later issued a statement confirming no away fans would be let in to the venue at all during the contest on the advice of West Midlands Police.
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The Premier League side also took a swipe at Legia Warsaw for providing “no assistance on
the serious safety matter of away fans attending 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,” the Villa statement read.
“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.”
The Polish club had their ticket allocation reduced to just under 1,000 after concerns over potential crowd trouble.
Ticketless Legia fans vowed to travel to Birmingham regardless of the reduced allocation.
Legia supporters were met by a wall of police officers wearing helmets with visors to protect themselves when they marched towards Villa Park.
The flares were let off as they were penned in, sparking the incident that led to the police injuries.
