A Legia Warsaw hooligan pelted mayonnaise into a crowd of Aston Villa fans before falling over for his troubles on Thursday night.
The unruly supporter, who was wearing a balaclava, grabbed two bottles from a nearby table and launched one before losing his balance as Villa fans mocked him.
It sits in the wider context of abhorrent violence surrounding Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match against Legia Warsaw.
Polish football hooligans set one police officer on fire and injured three others as they bombarded them with flares outside Villa Park.
Dudley Police confirmed that 46 people have been arrested following ’90 minutes of sustained violence’.
A Legia Warsaw hooligan wearing a balaclava equipped himself with bottles of mayonnaise
However, he fell over after launching one and was mocked by Aston Villa supporters
Football hooligans from Polish side Legia Warsaw attacked police officers outside Villa Park on Thursday night
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Dramatic photos show thugs supporting Legia Warsaw charging at police in ugly scenes.
One officer who was engulfed by flames after being hit by a flare suffered burns and is now recovering in hospital.
All of the Polish fans were refused entry into the stadium, with some managing to launch containers of beer into the home end from outside, while a small group broke in.
The fans forced their way in after West Midlands Police posted on social media that they were not letting any Legia fans inside the stadium
Unai Emery’s side won 2-1 thanks to goals from Moussa Diaby and Alex Moreno and have successfully progressed through the group stages.
They sit top of group E with four wins in five games, having lost the away tie to Legia Warsaw 3-2.
The match commander, Chief Inspector Tim Robinson, said: ‘This should have been a great evening of football which was enjoyed by fans from both clubs.
‘Unfortunately, there were appalling scenes which saw away fans dangerously throw flares and other missiles at our officers.
‘We were there to help keep people safe, yet officers own safety was put at risk because of the deplorable actions of others.
One police officer was hit by a flare thrown by the hooligans and was engulfed by flames
The officer was taken to hospital and treated for burns and Dudley Police confirmed 46 people have been arrested
All of the Polish fans were refused entry into the stadium following the disgraceful scenes
Police horses watch on as officers in riot gear confront the group of thugs in Birmingham
A police horse raises its front legs during the trouble outside Villa Park last night
Police told the public to stay away from Witton Lane as the violence escalated
Legia fans let off flares as they were penned in by the wall of police officers
‘Due to the extreme violence, there was no other choice but to prevent away fans entering the stadium. The safety of everyone is our priority, and clearly we had no other option.
‘There can never be a place for such appalling behaviour, and this is something ourselves and the wider community should never have to experience.’
Mail Sport understands that Legia were unhappy with their reduced allocation after Villa reduced their ticket allocation to just 890 based on advice from the police and Safety Advisory Group.
UEFA rules allow the visiting team five per cent of the stadium’s capacity, which would equal 2,100 tickets at Villa Park.
In an official statement from Legia, they accused Villa of refusing to allocate tickets to away fans in accordance with UEFA regulations for a UEFA Europa Conference League match.
‘Instead of diffusing potential pre-match tensions, restrictive measures of Aston Villa F.C. as the host club needlessly exacerbate the atmosphere. In our view, such measures are counterproductive and unfounded,’ they wrote.
‘In a recent development, Aston Villa FC has firmly declined to adhere to UEFA competition regulations by refusing to allocate the stipulated pool of tickets for visiting supporters.
‘Legia Warsaw had put forward a compromise solution, proposing an allocation of 1,700 tickets for their loyal supporters—a figure mirroring the number allocated to English club fans journeying to Warsaw. This proposal was officially accepted and duly documented in the UEFA delegate’s report, dated September 21.
West Midlands Police hit out at the ‘disgusting and highly dangerous scenes’
All Legia Warsaw fans were stopped from going into the stadium following the unrest
Legia Warsaw fans and police clashed outside Villa Park on Thursday night
A police officer helps an injured colleague away from the unrest
‘In light of this agreement, Legia Warsaw’s supporters commenced their preparations for the journey across the English Channel, incurring various costs, including airline tickets and hotel reservations.
‘However, on November 2, Legia Warsaw received an unexpected and revised decision regarding the ticket allocation, which blatantly disregarded the prior agreements. The number of tickets was slashed to a mere 890, representing a staggering reduction of over 50%.
‘Faced with this untenable situation, Legia Warsaw has lodged repeated appeals with Aston Villa F.C., urging them to honour the regulations set forth on September 21.’
Villa hit back with a statement of their own later in the evening, condemning the violent scenes on the streets outside their stadium.
Villa said: ‘Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that no away fans were allowed into Villa Park for this evening’s UEFA Europa Conference League fixture with Legia Warsaw on the advice of West Midlands Police following large-scale disorder outside the stadium caused by visiting supporters.
‘The UK safety authorities, UEFA and Aston Villa, communicated on November 2 that the ticket allocation for away fans for this fixture would be reduced to 1,002 on the advice of safety authorities as a result of previous large-scale disorder caused by Legia fans last month at AZ Alkmaar.
‘A number of Dutch police officers were injured during that disorder. As a consequence, UEFA banned Legia supporters from travelling to Mostar for their game against HSK Zrinjski.
The Polish side had already had their away allocation reduced to 1,000 amid fears of disorder
A line of police officers lining up outside Villa Park last night
There were no away fans inside Villa Park when the game got underway at 8pm
Villa fans were seen looking over a wall at Legia fans that had managed to break into Villa Park
‘In spite of numerous requests for cooperation from Legia Warsaw concerning their travelling supporters, especially in the last two days, no assistance on the serious safety matter of away fans attending Villa Park was forthcoming from the visiting club.
‘The club has repeatedly, including this morning, raised concerns in conjunction with UEFA and all the relevant authorities to Legia that ticketless away supporters were attempting to attend Villa Park.’
Legia supporters had made their way towards Villa Park ahead of kick-off, but were met with a barrier and a wall of police officers wearing helmets with visors to protect themselves.
The fans appeared to grow frustrated and flares were let off as they were penned in by the police.