UEFA have handed out a stiff punishment to Legia Warsaw following violent scenes which preceded their Conference League clash against Aston Villa last month.
Supporters of the Polish team have been banned from attending the club's next five away games in Europe after dozens of unruly fans clashed with police outside Villa Park on November 30. One police officer was set on fire and three others were injured as 46 arrests were made.
UEFA have also fined Warsaw €100,000 (£86,000) and ordered the club to contact Villa to pay for damages caused by supporters, which included broken fences and broken lighting poles around the ground.
READ MORE: Legia Warsaw blame Aston Villa for unruly violence which saw police officer set on fire
READ MORE: Police injured at Aston Villa as 'disgusting' Legia thugs slammed over launching missiles
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said in a statement: "The CEDB has decided to fine Legia Warszawa €100,000 and to ban Legia Warszawa from selling tickets to its away supporters for its next five (5) UEFA competition matches, for crowd disturbances, acts of damage, throwing of objects and lighting of fireworks."
On the night of the game, a statement from West Midlands Police read: "We were faced with disgusting and highly dangerous scenes as trouble flared ahead of the fixture between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw. We had a significant policing presence in place because of safety concerns. This stemmed from visiting fans having been involved in previous match day disorder.
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"Tonight’s disorder is believed to have sparked when tickets were not distributed by the away club to supporters outside the ground, as had been anticipated. During the disorder, four officers were injured – with one taken to hospital – along with two police horses and two police dogs as missiles including flares were thrown towards them. Thankfully their injuries are not believed to be serious."
They also noted that of the 46 fans who were arrested, four of them were in possession of knives and other "offensive" weapons. Legia attempted to blame Villa for the violence by claiming they reduced the away supporters' ticket allocation ahead of kick-off. Villa, however, denied doing so.
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Unai Emery's side, who beat Warsaw 2-1 that day, face Bosnia and Herzegovinian outfit Zrinjski on Thursday night, knowing that a win will seal top spot in the group. It would top off a tremendous couple week for the Midlands club following back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Arsenal.
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