West Midlands Police have confirmed that 46 men have been charged following violent scenes outside Villa Park ahead of Aston Villa's match with Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
On Friday, the force said 46 people were in custody “following last night's violence involving non-resident fans” and that officers had experienced “90 minutes of sustained violence” that left five injured.
An officer engulfed in flames after being hit by a flare suffered burns and has since been recovering in hospital.
Aston Villa confirmed the club had made an official complaint to UEFA over the violence, before West Midlands Police provided an update on Saturday morning.
In a statement they said: 'WWe have charged 46 men over Thursday night's violence outside Villa Park.
Football hooligans from Poland's Legia Warsaw attacked police officers outside Villa Park
West Midlands Police confirmed that 46 men have been charged following the violent scenes
One police officer was hit by a flare thrown by the hooligans and was engulfed in flames
Aston Villa confirmed on Friday that the club has filed an official complaint with UEFA
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“Of these, 43 have been charged with public order offences, while two have been charged with assaulting police officers and another has been charged with possessing a knife.”
Their statement further confirmed that all indicted suspects are between the ages of 21 and 63, with 40 believed to be from Poland, while a small number were residents of Britain.
A special court has been set up to hear the cases at Birmingham magistrates and 45 of the 46 were due to appear there today, with one person released on bail until a later date.
They also confirmed that in addition to the five injured officers – two of whom were from West Midlands Police, two from West Mercia Police and one from Derbyshire Police – two dogs and two horses were injured and are currently recovering.
Chief Inspector Jim Munro – who is overseeing the investigation – added: “Our investigation is still continuing and we will be reviewing footage and speaking to witnesses in the coming days.
'Charging this number of people so soon after such a serious condition has taken a huge effort from staff who have been working around the clock.
“We have had a number of messages of thanks from the club and the fans who attended on Thursday evening and saw the police operation first-hand, and we are very grateful for that support.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street also called on European football chiefs to take 'strong action' as he thanked the 'brave officers' and criticized the 'very unpleasant scenes'.
In the aforementioned statement on their club website on Friday, Villa said: 'Aston Villa can confirm that it has made an official complaint to UEFA regarding the conduct of Legia Warsaw football club and the conduct of their supporters ahead of last night's UEFA Europe conference. Competition match at Villa Park.
'This shocking behavior followed Legia club officials' complete lack of cooperation with West Midlands Police, Aston Villa and UEFA throughout the day.
'It started at the standard pre-match operational meeting, which started at 10.30am on Thursday morning and was attended by UEFA representatives, including the UEFA security team, and by West Midlands Police, including representatives from both clubs. Legia Warsaw refused to confirm whether they would accept the allocation of tickets for the match at that time. This is in stark contrast to UEFA's normal operating procedures.
'They told the meeting that they would meet their supporters at 2.30pm and announce the decision at 3pm, but advised there was a possibility they would not accept the tickets.
'Despite repeated requests before and after the 3pm deadline for a decision to be made, there was no communication until 4pm when Legia informed Aston Villa that they wished to receive their ticket allocation.
'These tickets were handed over to Legia officials immediately upon arrival at the stadium at 6.16pm. I repeat: Legia officials were told during a call on 2 November involving a number of UEFA representatives that they would receive an allocation of 1002 – exactly four weeks before last night's match.'
Chris Heck, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa, added: 'The lack of cooperation and deceit from Legia Warsaw officials prior to the match was completely unacceptable and very disappointing.
“This behavior increases the danger to which West Midlands police officers and our own fans were exposed before the match, and the disorder suffered by Legia fans has no place in modern football or civilized society.
'Aston Villa will take further action with UEFA to ensure that other clubs and police forces across Europe are not exposed to similar serious security risks from Legia Warsaw.
There were no away fans at Villa Park when the match started at 8pm
West Midlands Police confirmed five officers were injured following the ugly scenes
Police urged the public to 'avoid Witton Lane where possible' following the clashes
'We are extremely grateful to the West Midlands Police for keeping our supporters and our local community safe last night and are pleased that they will also be taking their own steps with UEFA through the British Police.'
UEFA is investigating and a spokesperson said on Friday: 'UEFA strongly condemns the unacceptable violence that took place around the Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw match. UEFA is in the process of collecting all official reports from the match before deciding on any possible next steps.”
The fans forced their way inside after West Midlands Police posted on social media that they were not allowing Legia fans into the stadium.
The force tweeted: 'We are currently unable to allow fans into Villa Park following disturbances outside the stadium involving missiles being thrown at officers.
“Three officers have already been injured and a significant police operation is continuing. Please avoid Witton Lane where possible.'
In an official statement from Legia, they accused Villa of refusing to allocate tickets to away fans in accordance with UEFA rules for a UEFA Europa Conference League match.
'Rather than diffuse potential tensions before the match, restrictive measures by Aston Villa FC as the host club unnecessarily worsen the atmosphere. In our opinion, such measures are counterproductive and unwarranted,” they wrote.
'In a recent development, Aston Villa FC has resolutely refused to adhere to UEFA competition rules by refusing to allocate the stipulated quantity of tickets to visiting supporters.
A police horse raises its front legs during the unrest outside Villa Park last night
A police officer helps an injured colleague away from the unrest
Legia Warsaw fans pelt Aston Villa supporters with projectiles from outside Villa Park
'Legia Warsaw had put forward a compromise solution, proposing an allocation of 1,700 tickets for their loyal supporters – a figure equivalent to the number allocated to English club fans traveling to Warsaw. This proposal was officially accepted and duly documented in the UEFA delegate's report, dated 21 September.
“In light of this agreement, Legia Warsaw supporters began 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 on ticket allocation, blatantly ignoring the previous agreements. The number of tickets was reduced to just 890, a staggering reduction of more than 50%.
'Faced with this untenable situation, Legia Warsaw has repeatedly appealed to Aston Villa FC and urged them to respect the rules adopted on September 21.'
