'Worst violence seen in 28 years of policing' - 46 men charged following Villa Park disorder

Police have charged 46 men after officers were attacked during the "worst violence seen in 28 years of policing" at a football match.

Riot cops fought with hordes of Legia Warsaw fans who tried to storm Villa Park ahead of Aston Villa's 2-1 Europa Conference League Group E victory on Thursday. Now West Midlands Police have charged 46 men, aged between 21 and 63, in connection with the violence.

The force said 40 of the men are believed to be from Poland, while a small number are UK residents. A special court date has been sent in Birmingham to begin hearing cases later this month. Det Supt Jim Munro said: “Our investigation is very much continuing and we’ll be reviewing footage and speaking to witnesses over the coming days.

"To charge this number of people so soon after such a major disorder has taken a huge effort by staff who have been working around the clock. We’ve had a number of messages of thanks from the club and fans who were present on Thursday night and saw the policing operation first hand, and we are really grateful for that support.” Supporters went on the rampage outside the ground and clashed with cops after only 100 fans were allowed in the stadium over safety concerns. Enraged Legia fans hurled missiles at police, with one officer seemingly engulfed in flames during the attack.

Legia followers were furious after their ticket allocation was cut from 1,700 to 1,002 following battles between supporters and Dutch police in Alkmaar in October.

Fighting broke out when West Midlands Police tried to march fans towards a car park. Some supporters did get into the home end but were ejected by stewards. Five police officers suffered minor injuries during the attack and are receiving treatment.

Two dogs from West Midlands Police and two horses from Thames Valley were also injured in the attacks.

Assistant Chief Constable Damian Barratt previously said of the violence: "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."