Aston Villa supporters’ first European away day of the season has been marred by trouble in Rotterdam. The Premier League club traveled to the Dutch city ahead of their Europa League clash with Feyenoord on Thursday night, with around 3,000 Villa fans making the journey to the Netherlands.
Unfortunately, the buildup to the match was overshadowed by ugly scenes when a brawl broke out between rival supporters. According to Dutch reports, five local people were arrested following the incident, which occurred outside an Irish pub.
A video shared on the X account The Away Days shows people dressed in black storming an area, with glasses being smashed in the background. In another video uploaded by @K6HolteEnd, the uploader reports, “Me and my son were looking for a bar and got to this bar but we didn’t try to go in as it looked a bit tense. Then it kicked off. Here is my son’s video.” The footage shows people, again dressed in black, arriving en masse with what appears to be the intention to fight before dispersing due to police presence.
Further reports from Dutch publication AD revealed that fireworks were set off in front of the hotel where Aston Villa players were staying on Wednesday night, apparently in an attempt to disturb their sleep.
Ahead of kick-off on Thursday, a visible police presence was maintained as Villa supporters gathered in the Oude Haven (Old Port) area of the city.
Rotterdam holds fond memories for Aston Villa, as the Midlands club famously won the 1982 European Cup final there with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich. Fast-forward 43 years, and Villa will be looking to build on their winning start to the Europa League, which saw them secure a narrow 1-0 triumph over Bologna last Thursday.
Despite that win, manager Unai Emery is under no illusions about the challenge his team faces against Feyenoord. Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Emery said:
“I know it. Of course, they [the players] know as well the difficulties we will face tomorrow.
“Firstly, because playing away is always difficult.
“Secondly, because the Europa League is very, very difficult.
“Thirdly, because Feyenoord performed fantastically last year in the Champions League. Every team that played here struggled.
“And I know the environment really supports them, pushes them, and plays like one more player for them.
“We have to try to dominate through our personality, dominate our idea, impose ourselves, and try to stop them tactically and individually.
“Be focused for 90 minutes and respect them — that is the first idea and the first detail we want to achieve tomorrow. Respect them and try to play with our personality.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-15156135/Aston-Villa-fans-attacked-Rotterdam-Five-arrests-local-supporters-sparked-brawl-glasses-thrown-Irish-pub-Europe-League-game.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
