LONDON (Reuters) – British police said on Saturday 46 men have been charged after “serious disorder outside” Villa Park on Thursday in the build up to a Europa Conference League soccer game in which authorities said three officers were injured.
“Of those, 43 have been charged with a public order offence, while two have been charged with assaulting police officers and another has been charged with possession of a knife,” West Midland’s Police said in a statement.
The unrest occurred ahead of kickoff in a game between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw.
“Those charged are aged between and 21 and 63, and around 40 are believed to be from Poland. A small number are believed to be UK residents,” West Midland’s Police said.
Police said all apart from one of the men were due in court on Saturday and a special court had been set up at Birmingham magistrates court to begin hearing the cases this morning.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Toby Chopra)
