Forty-six men, most of them Polish, were charged on Saturday by British police for violence on the sidelines of a football match between English clubs Aston Villa and Polish clubs Legia Warsaw on Thursday evening in Birmingham in the Europa Conference League.
Five police officers were slightly injured in these “serious disturbances” which took place outside the stadium, West Midlands police, the Birmingham region, said in a statement on Saturday.
Forty-three men were charged with disturbing public order, two were charged with assaulting police officers and one with possession of a knife.
Around forty of these men are from Poland, according to the police. Only “a small number” are UK residents. Those charged are aged between 21 and 63.
All but one who was released on bail are due in court on Saturday, police said.
Less than 1,000 places had been reserved for this Europa Conference League match for Legia Warsaw supporters, who have a reputation for causing disturbances to public order.
Several fans of the Polish club, without tickets, had however announced their intention to go to Birmingham.
Ultimately, no Legia supporters were allowed to enter the stadium due to the violence. A group of supporters of the Polish club approached the stadium to throw bottles from the street towards Aston Villa fans who were inside the stadium.
On Friday, the English club announced that it had filed a complaint with UEFA over the behavior of Legia supporters.
But in a statement released on Friday, the Polish club said none of those arrested by police had tickets for the match. “Therefore, we strongly object to Legia Warsaw being held responsible for Thursday’s incidents in Birmingham,” the club added.
