Fans criticise 'shambles' of match policing

Fans were crammed in queues, said Chris Budd

Aston Villa fans have criticised policing in Poland after hundreds were stuck in a stadium following their Europa Conference League group opener.

Chris Budd said it was an "absolute shambles from the Warsaw police", with many fans taking more than two hours to get out of the Legia Warsaw Municipal Stadium on Thursday evening.

More than 1,000 Villa fans made the journey and saw their 3-2 away defeat to Legia Warsaw.

The West Midlands Police Force Football Unit, which had officers assisting, said delays were caused by the late arrival of buses.

The lateness of free shuttle buses led to delays for fans, says Aston Villa police

The unit, which was updating fans on X, formerly Twitter, said the free buses were taking people into Warsaw and fans could also get taxis and walk.

"We have relayed the feelings of the fans to the police who are working to rectify the situation," officers said.

Aston Villa fans had been looking forward to the former champion's first European campaign in 13 years, but were disappointed by the defeat and criticised the delays and the logistics of getting them to and from the ground.

BBC Radio WM's Mike Taylor, who was there, said: "I didn't come out of the ground until about 90 minutes after the end of the game and the Villa fans were still there.

"The odd one or two were being allowed out to go and get taxis to elsewhere. There was a Villa police representative trying to co-ordinate."

Mr Budd, from the Villa podcast My Old Man Said, told the BBC that Villa stewards "were trying to do their best" but were dealing with a "disorganised" situation.

He said fans had been told they would be held back for 40 minutes, which was accepted as "fair enough", but soon "one hour turned into two and plus".

About 1,200 fans were moved back into town under police escort, he said.

"It was like a military operation trying to move these fans," Mr Budd said.

"It was complete and utter overkill for a fan base who don't have a bad reputation on the continent.

"It has just been a shambles and we were just stood like lemons in the stadium for a bit and we were stood on the steps for another 45 [minutes] and then we were stood in queues, really crammed in."

Mr Budd added the Villa fans were "superbly behaved".

Carol, another fan who did not give her surname, said she was among people who had to get flights home, which made the delays more stressful.