Young Boys captain criticises police after crowd trouble at Aston Villa match

Visiting Swiss supporters threw punches and hurled seats toward officers during violent clashes just before half-time which saw the match stopped for around five minutes by referee Georgi Kabakov.

Benito had been spotted pleading for fans to calm down after plastic cups had been hurled toward the pitch from the visitors’ section in the lower tier of the Doug Ellis Stand after both of Donyell Malen’s first half goals for Villa.

One struck the scorer on the head while he was celebrating his 27th minute opener with team-mates.

While Young Boys head coach Gerardo Seoane apologised for the behaviour of fans, Benito was critical of the police response to his own intervention. 

Benito said: “The referee told me we risked the game being suspended or even abandoned if anything else happened on the pitch.

“The police officers had their backs to the pitch. They didn't see me coming and trying to talk to the fans. From then on, it just escalated. The police also acted incorrectly. Their job is to de-escalate, not escalate.”

An investigation has been launched into the trouble, which saw two Young Boys fans arrested at the match on suspicion of affray and assaulting a police officer.

A further six men were arrested at Birmingham Airport on Friday on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and violent disorder.

West Midlands police superintendent, Paul Minor, said: “We won’t tolerate violence of any kind at football matches.

“The majority of the crowd was in good spirit but unfortunately a small minority of away fans caused violence and disrupted the game.

“An investigation has been launched, and officers are reviewing body worn video and CCTV from the stadium of the disorder.”

Subscribe to Express & Star Plus now for just £1 a month for 12 months for exclusive content and an ad-free website. Visit https://www.expressandstar.com/subscribe/ for our Black Friday offer.