Three charged over Villa v West Bromwich Albion FA Cup violence
Three men have been charged in relation to violence that took place during last season's FA Cup West Midlands derby at Villa Park.
51-year-old Robert Bernard of Carisbrooke Road, Wednesbury; 29-year-old Carl Ashmore of Kesteven Road, West Bromwich and 34-year-old John Ritchie, of Marnham Road, West Bromwich, have all been charged with causing fear of unlawful violence.
As part of their bail conditions the trio are barred from attending any regulated matches and must not go within five miles of Villa Park before, during or after a game.
The men will appear before Birmingham Magistrates Court on 16 October and, if found guilty, officers intend to apply banning orders that will prevent them from attending future football fixtures.
The arrests come just two days before the teams play each other for the first time since the ill-tempered quarter final in March.
Seventeen people were arrested on the day of that match on March 7 and further arrests have followed.
Trouble flared before and after the Saturday evening tie, with two pitch invasions taking place in the game's final minutes.
Seats were ripped up and thrown by Albion fans, while West Brom's Callum McManaman and Boaz Myhill were confronted by dozens of fans as they fled the field.
Rival fans also brawled at the Witton Arms pub prior to the game.
After the match Villa issued a swift apology for their fans' behaviour, while West Brom vowed to take a "zero tolerance" approach and promised to co-operate fully with the FA's inquiry.
Villa were later fined £200,000 by the FA for failing to prevent the pitch invasion.
Tony Pulis called for a lifetime ban of any Albion fan responsible for throwing seats.
Police have since trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and have made a number of arrests for a variety of offences.
Investigations continue.
