Aston Villa star left cut as rival captain pleads with supporters to calm down amid ugly clash with police

Aston Villa’s match against Young Boys has been delayed after fans clashed with police.

The Europa League contest was paused for four-and-a-half minutes towards the end of the first half at Villa Park.

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It came after travelling supporters of the Swiss side threw chairs at police in unsavoury scenes inside the ground.

Villa had taken a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Donyell Malen before fighting erupted in the away end.

The Dutch forward had been cut after he was hit with an object thrown from the crowd following his first goal.

Youri Tielemans could be seen speaking to the referee after his team-mate was struck.

Several objects were once again thrown onto the pitch after his second of the evening.

Those scenes were followed by clashes with police and stewards as two supporters were taken away in handcuffs.

Young Boys captain Loris Benito had approached his own fans in an attempt to convince them to calm down during the stoppage in play.

The action was paused for four-and-a-half minutes before referee Georgi Kabakov restarted the match.

However, the trouble continued in the away end once the match was back underway, according to the TNT Sports commentators.

Fortunately, there were no further stoppages before the whistle was blown for half-time.

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Thursday’s match is the second competitive meeting between Villa and Young Boys.

The two sides met on the opening phase of last season’s Champions League league phase.

Villa secured a 3-0 victory in Bern on that occasion thanks to goals from Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana.

Another win for Unai Emery’s side could see them end matchday five top of the standings.

Meanwhile, Young Boys were previously penalised by UEFA for the behaviour of their fans.

The sanctions related to incidents during their Champions League clash with Inter Milan in October 2024.

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UEFA fined the club just under £22,000 and ordered a partial stadium closure of the stadium for one match, suspended for two years.

It came after flares had been set off by supporters and access to areas of the ground were blocked.

More to follow.