Aston Villa’s home Europa League clash against BSC Young Boys was temporarily halted as away fans clashed with police at Villa Park.
Objects were thrown towards forward Donyell Malen, the scorer of Villa’s first goal, with Morgan Rogers also appearing to be hit.
The unrest continued following Villa’s second goal, with more items being thrown at Malen.
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Aston Villa players spoke with the referee after Malen was hit by an object thrown from the Young Boys fans
Young Boys captain Loris Benito went over to supporters to try and calm the situation, but the unrest heightened as fans collided with police officers at the scene, with punches and seats being thrown.
Some of the fans were ejected as the game resumed several minutes after the second goal had been scored.
There were no further issues in the second half.
‘Unsavoury scenes at Villa Park’
Donyell Malen was struck by objects following his first goal
Sky Sports’ Rob Jones at Villa Park:
“For the first 40 minutes of the game it was pretty good natured. The Young Boys fans were making a good noise. There was plenty of energy but the mood on that side of the stadium changed when Aston Villa scored their opening goal.
“Donyell Malen scored and then ran across towards the Young Boys fans but not in an antagonistic way. He wasn’t that near but as he ran to that side of the ground a host of things were thrown from the visiting supporters and one of them clearly hit Malen on the head.
“He finished the half after scoring a second goal with a clear cut on his head which had drawn blood.
“He scored the second goal and ran towards the same side of the ground but nowhere near the Young Boys supporters. They tried their best to throw something but he was too far away.
Malen was seen sporting a cut on his head following the celebrations for his first goal
“After that happened it became a lot more heated between the stewards inside the ground and the Young Boys fans. Initially it was plastic cups being thrown but after that there were at least two or three pale blue seats that were thrown by Young Boys supporters.
“After that there was a delay in the game as the stewards came together with the supporters who were at the right of the front of that stand and two or three supporters were ejected.
Police were struck by objects while away fans also threw punches at officers
“It was pretty unsavoury, the scenes we saw.”
Young Boys coach: We apologise
Young Boys head coach Gerardo Seoane speaking about the crowd incidents that disrupted the game against Aston Villa:
“I think it’s normal when you score a goal that you want to celebrate with your team-mates. Maybe it was a small provocation, I don’t know. Our fans maybe took this like a provocation, but I think this is part of the football, our fans should not react so heavily.
“The referee asked our captain to go to our supporters, and he was going there to calm a bit, and I think some supporters came down to have a talk, and the police reacted like they would jump into the pitch, but it was not their intention, this is what I know, and I think they reacted a bit early.
“It’s a pity for everybody, for the provocations, for throwing the object, for thinking that somebody would jump on the pitch, and I think the result is not nice for anybody, and for sure we apologise. We don’t feel good.
“The way our supporters are normally, it is not how we want to act when we are guests somewhere, and I think nobody wins at the end, everybody loses with this situation.”