Legia Warsaw fan in balaclava falls flat on his face after launching MAYONNAISE at Aston Villa supporters, as footage goes viral amid violent clashes in Birmingham

A Legia Warsaw hooligan threw mayonnaise into a crowd of Aston Villa fans before falling over in his troubles on Thursday evening.

The unruly supporter, who was wearing a balaclava, grabbed two bottles from a nearby table and launched one before losing his balance as Villa fans mocked him.

It fits into the wider context of the appalling violence surrounding Aston Villa's Europa Conference League match against Legia Warsaw.

Polish football hooligans set fire to a police officer and injured three others as they attacked them with flares outside Villa Park.

Dudley Police confirmed 46 people had been arrested following '90 minutes of sustained violence'.

Dramatic photos show thugs supporting Legia Warsaw attacking police in ugly scenes.

An officer engulfed in flames after being hit by a flare suffered burns and is now recovering in hospital.

All Polish fans were refused entry to the stadium, with some managing to launch containers of beer from outside into the home side, while a small group broke in.

The fans forced their way in after West Midlands Police posted on social media that they were not allowing Legia fans into the stadium

Unai Emery's side won 2-1 thanks to goals from Moussa Diaby and Alex Moreno and successfully progressed through the group stage.

They sit top of Group E with four wins in five matches, after losing the away match against Legia Warsaw 3–2.

The match commander, Chief Inspector Tim Robinson, said: “This should have been a great night of football enjoyed by fans of both clubs.

“Unfortunately, there were horrific scenes of fans dangerously throwing flares and other missiles at our officers.

'We were there to protect people, but the officers' own safety was jeopardized because of the deplorable actions of others.

'Due to the extreme violence, there was no other option than to prevent away fans from entering the stadium. Everyone's safety is our priority, and we clearly had no other choice.

'There can never be a place for such appalling behaviour, and this is something we and the wider community should never have to experience.'

Mail Sport understands Legia were unhappy with their reduced allocation after Villa reduced their ticket allocation to just 890 based on advice from the police and safety advisory group.

UEFA rules allow the visiting team five percent of the stadium's capacity, which equates to 2,100 tickets for Villa Park.

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.

'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.'

Villa returned later in the evening with their own statement condemning the violent scenes on the streets outside their stadium.

Villa said: 'Football club Aston Villa can confirm, on the advice of West Midlands Police, that no away fans will be allowed into Villa Park for tonight's UEFA Europa Conference League match with Legia Warsaw, following large-scale disturbances outside the stadium caused by visiting supporters .

'The British security authorities, UEFA and Aston Villa, announced on 2 November that the allocation of tickets for away fans for this match would be reduced to 1,002 on the advice of the security authorities as a result of previous large-scale disturbances caused by Legia fans last year. month at AZ Alkmaar.

'A number of Dutch police officers were injured during those disturbances. As a result, UEFA banned Legia supporters from traveling to Mostar for their match against HSK Zrinjski.

'Despite numerous requests for cooperation from Legia Warsaw regarding their traveling supporters, especially in the last two days, no assistance was received from the visiting club regarding the serious safety issue of the away fans attending Villa Park.

'The club has repeatedly, including this morning, in collaboration with UEFA and all relevant authorities at Legia, expressed their concerns that supporters without tickets were attempting to visit Villa Park.'

Legia supporters headed to Villa Park before kick-off but were confronted by a barrier and a wall of police officers wearing helmets with visors to protect themselves.

The fans seemed to become frustrated and flares were set off as they were locked up by police.