Aston Villa opponents Legia Warsaw fear partial stadium closure for Europa clash
Villa’s opening Europa Conference League group stage match could be played in front of a reduced crowd with hosts Legia Warsaw fearing a partial stadium closure.
It has now been confirmed Villa will receive an allocation of 1,703 for the Group E encounter in Poland, which takes place a week on Thursday.
But part of the stadium could be closed to home supporters after Legia were charged by Uefa for supporters using pyrotechnics during the home leg of last month’s play-off round win over FC Midtylland.
The Polish club were already subject to a partial stadium closure, suspended for two years, after supporters lit fireworks and blocked passageways during a Europa League tie with Napoli in November, 2021. It is that punishment Uefa may now seek to enforce.
A statement posted on the official Legia website explained: “The club uses all possible instruments to ensure that all seats in the stadium during the match against Aston Villa FC are accessible to fans.
“However, there is a risk that the decision of the UEFA authorities may limit the pool of tickets available for sale.
“Therefore, the club informs that the sale of tickets and packages for the UEFA Conference League group stage matches will begin after receiving a binding decision of the UEFA bodies.”
Villa and Legia have been paired together in Group E of the Conference League, along with AZ Alkmaar and Zrinjski.
