Legia Warsaw accuses Aston Villa of causing the violent scenes that marred their Europa Conference League match, arguing that they are not accountable for the arrests of “supporters without tickets” arrested by the police

Legia Warsaw accuses Aston Villa of causing the violent scenes that marred their

Europa Conference League match,

arguing that they are not accountable for the arrests of “supporters without tickets” arrested by the police

Following the thrilling Europa Conference League match between

the two teams at Villa Park on Thursday night,

which saw Polish ultras engage in violent outbursts outside

the stadium and away fans unable to watch the match from inside,

Legia Warsaw released a statement blaming Aston Villa.

In the midst of the unsettling events,

the Premier League side filed a formal protest with UEFA on Friday,

accusing club officials of a “complete lack of cooperation with West Midlands Police,

Aston Villa FC, and UEFA throughout the day.” It is anticipated that the Polish team will face a stadium ban following what

Villa describes as ‘organised and systemic acts of violence’ outside Villa Park,

which resulted in numerous police injuries,

the burning of one officer, and the hurling of flares and missiles at the home crowd.

West Midlands Police detained and charged 46 males;

45 of the 46 were scheduled to appear in court on Saturday, while one man was released on bond until a later time.

A special court was constituted to start hearing the cases at Birmingham Magistrates.

Legia Warsaw, however, has disputed Villa’s brash claim,

claiming that the mayhem was caused by the club’s matchday policing and ticket allocation strategy.

Legia Warsaw emphasised that none of the people accused had matchday tickets and that

they have ‘consistently maintained that our responsibility extends only to

individuals entering the visitors’ sector with tickets distributed by us,’

attacking Villa’s claim that they have ‘a responsibility to ensure an adequate level of security both inside

the stadium and its immediate surroundings’ as the hosting club.

The statement said, “Our staff arrived in Birmingham ahead of schedule and kept in constant contact with the English club, UEFA, and the local police.”

“We have consistently advised our British counterparts of the need for security measures at the venue and surrounding areas.”

In spite of this, our recommendations were not followed by the British police,

who only acknowledged the possible concerns in their official statements.

Unfortunately, bad things happened yesterday as a result of Aston Villa FC’s deeds and inactions.

“The host club assumes full responsibility for the situation by ignoring our constructive feedback.”

“Aston Villa FC breached UEFA regulations multiple times,” the statement said.

“First, they reduced the agreed-upon 1,700 tickets to just 890,

then they failed to allocate the required 2,100 tickets (5% of the stadium’s capacity).

” Tensions increased as a result of these choices.

“We have repeatedly brought attention to the emotional toll that the denial of tickets,

in violation of the inter-club agreement of September 21,

has taken on for countless people from Poland and the UK,

even though they incurred significant travel and lodging expenses.”

Both the British authorities and the host club were fully aware of these conditions.

We conveyed the British limits via our club channels, always acknowledging the host’s responsibility for security.

The club “strongly objects to being blamed for Thursday incidents,” according to the statement,

which concludes with the club demanding that visiting fans to Warsaw be accommodated safely and stating that club representatives,

including Aston Villa’s, have “consistently recognised” their commitment to such safety measures.

The acerbic remark follows Villa’s grievance,

which outlined the ways in which the team feels Legia Warsaw representatives’ actions regarding the club’s allowance for away fan tickets were “deeply disappointing and completely unacceptable.”

“This behaviour increased the danger that West Midlands Police officers and our own fans were subjected to before the game,” said Chris Heck,

President of Business Operations at Aston Villa.

“The scenes of disorder from the Legia fans have no place in modern football or civilised society.”

The events of Thursday night seemed to have unsettling similarities to English football hooliganism from

the “bad old days” in terms of supporter violence. Chief Constable Mark Roberts,

the head of the UK’s Football Policing Unit,

called for Legia Warsaw to be eliminated from the competition in a statement following the events.

Roberts remarked on Friday that “sadly,

Legia have become well known in Europe for appalling fan behaviour.”

“Police find them very challenging to control,

and there comes a time when you have to consider whether public safety and

law enforcement priorities are more important than those of the competition.”

Legia Warsaw is now second in Group E behind first-place Villa,

and they are expected to advance to the knockout stages after the 2-1 loss at Villa Park.

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