The disorder happened during a game between Young Boys and Aston Villa on Thursday.
Keystone-SDA
A total of eight men are in custody after the violence involving Young Boys Bern fans at a Europa League match in Birmingham on Thursday.
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Six men were arrested on Friday afternoon at the airport in the English city of Birmingham. According to a statement by the West Midlands Police on Friday evening, the men are suspected of assaulting a police officer and taking part in violent disorder.
Two Young Boys fans had already been arrested during Thursday’s game. Several supporters of the Bernese club had thrown stadium seats and coins at Aston Villa players and police officers, the police wrote. Villa player Donyell Malen was hit on the head by a beer cup. Some of the incidents were shown on television.
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“The majority of the crowd was in good spirit, but unfortunately, a small minority of away fans caused violence and disrupted the game,” police officer Paul Minor said in the statement. “An investigation has been launched, and officers are reviewing body-worn video and CCTV from the stadium of the disorder.”
According to Young Boys, the situation escalated after captain Loris Benito tried to speak to the fans after being asked to do so by the referee. The police officers, standing with their backs to the pitch, said that the fans wanted to move towards the pitch. This led to disorder. The Bernese club is currently in the process of “fully clarifying what happened”.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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