46 Legia Warsaw fans arrested following Villa Park violence as Birmingham MP issues statement

West Midlands Police have 46 people in custody following last night's serious disorder outside Villa Park.

Officers dispersed away fans outside the ground before the Aston Villa vs Legia Warsaw game, but were subjected to 90 minutes of 'sustained violence'.

As a result, 46 people, all away fans, are in custody this morning (December 1) for offences including violent disorder, assaulting police officers and weapons possession. Birmingham Police said that no home fans were arrested and there were no issues from Aston Villa supporters at any point. Four officers were injured in the disorder, which saw them attacked with flares.

One officer's fluorescent jacket caught fire after they were hit with a flare. Fortunately his jacket was removed quickly and he was not injured.

He was later taken to hospital with smoke inhalation after the smoke from the flare made it into his helmet. Another officer suffered a minor hand injury while a police dog and a police horse were injured in the disorder.

West Midlands Police statement

Assistant Chief Constable Damian Barratt, said: "This was appalling and completely unacceptable disorder.

"What we saw was 90 minutes of planned violence, with one officer saying it was the worst he had seen in 28 years of policing. Our officers bravely put themselves in harm's way and I would like to commend each and every one of them for their efforts.

"We are committed to charging and remanding any and all responsible for attacking our officers and endangering the public. We had no issues with the home fans and would like to thank them and Aston Villa for their support and kind words last night and this morning.

"The only issues inside the ground last night were from a small number of away fans who had managed to get into home areas. We will be liaising with the club and footballing authorities in the coming days to discuss last night's appalling scenes."

Villa lodge formal complaint and MP statement

Aston Villa confirmed that a formal complaint has bee lodged with UEFA following the violence. A statement from the club, read: "Aston Villa can confirm it has lodged an official complaint with UEFA over the conduct of Legia Warsaw Football Club and the behaviour of their supporters prior to last night’s UEFA Europa Conference League match at Villa Park."

Birmingham's Ladywood MP for Labour also issued a statement following the violence. Shabana Mahmood wrote: "Concerned to see serious disorder outside Villa Park yesterday evening and reports that police officers on duty were injured.

"These appalling scenes unfolded near residential streets near Birmingham - my constituents have the right to feel safe in their homes and the police need to be able to carry out their work without facing abhorrent violence. I will be writing to UEFA asking them to take action against Legia Warsaw."