British police have charged 46 men following clashes outside Villa Park before a Europa Conference League soccer game, where authorities reported injuries to five officers.
West Midlands Police revealed that among those charged, 43 face public order offense charges, two are accused of assaulting police officers, and one faces a charge for possessing a knife.
The disorder occurred ahead of Aston Villa's match against Legia Warsaw, resulting in Villa's 2-1 victory.
The majority of those charged, aged between 21 and 63, are believed to be from Poland, with a few presumed to be UK residents. Most were set to appear in court on Saturday, with a special session arranged at Birmingham magistrates court to address these cases promptly.
Aston Villa had previously filed a complaint with UEFA regarding Legia Warsaw's conduct and the behavior of their fans. Legia Warsaw countered claims of ticket allocation issues, asserting that due to challenges in verifying and distributing tickets, they returned them to the host club. They emphasized that none of the detained individuals had tickets for the match and disputed being held responsible for the Birmingham incidents.
Villa's statement clarified that Legia Warsaw had been informed about ticket allocations four weeks before the game. However, the Polish team's officials delayed confirming their acceptance of the allocation until 4 pm on Thursday. Photo by Philip Halling, Wikimedia commons.