ASTON VILLA’s Europa League clash against Young Boys spilled over into violence last night.
Unai Emery’s players ran the gauntlet under a hail of objects from visiting supporters who then clashed with West Midlands police in ugly scenes.
Trouble flared after both of Donyell Malen’s two first-half goals during Villa’s eventual 2-1 victory.
The Dutch striker inadvertently started the rumpus after celebrating in front of the 1,200 travelling contingent with his 26th-minute opener.
He was struck on the head as a stream of plastic objects rained down on him and his team-mates.
Fellow striker Morgan Rogers was seen holding his side too as the travelling contingent decided to take issue with the goal.
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But worse followed 15 minutes later when Malen grabbed his second.
This time, he stopped short of the upset fans – but it didn’t prevent him from being targeted by another round of plastic bottles.
At this stage, Young Boys’ skipper Loris Benito decided to try and quell the disturbance.
The defender made a point of remonstrating with the offenders who had gathered pitchside.
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But instead of calming the situation, it only made matters worse.
It served to spark a furious response from the fans who then turned their attention to a string of police, kitted out in their high-vis vests, who were seen trying to pluck out several offenders.
Eventually, they succeeded but not before seats had been broken up and thrown at them during a five-minute stoppage.
Villa boss Unai Emery and his opposite number Gerardo Seoane were both spoken to by referee Georgi Kabakov as the game was hit by an unscheduled delay.
Eventually, a number of supporters were taken out of the stands during the melee at the foot of the Doug Ellis Stand as Villa made it four wins from five during the league phase of the competition.
Young Boys have earned an unwanted reputation during the past couple of years having twice been involved in unsavoury incidents on British soil.
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Two years ago, they were fined over £24,000 for damage caused to the Etihad Stadium during a Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Seats were broken and toilets smashed with flares and bottles chucked onto the pitch.
Last season, they were hit with a £16,000 penalty after fireworks were set off at Celtic Park, again during a Champions League clash.
It is not the first time that Villa Park has seen problems among supporters since Emery re-introduced European competition to the club.
Legia Warsaw fans were involved in problems two seasons ago, eventually being penned in outside the ground.
Ironically, Villa’s last home game – against Maccabi Haifa – was detailed as high-risk – but passed off without incident inside the ground – while this could have serious repercussions for the Swiss club.