Number of Celtic fans nicked at Aston Villa Champions League clash revealed
Cops have revealed 19 Celtic fans were nicked at the club's Champions League clash against Aston Villa.
West Midlands Police said 21 arrests were made overall during the evening of the match on Wednesday, January 29, with 19 being Hoops supporters.
The force said the arrests varied from violent disorder, assaults, possession of Class-A drugs, throwing pyrotechnics onto the pitch and having fraudulent tickets.
The match took place at Villa Park, Aston Villa's home ground, in Birmingham.
Following the game, cops said the operation to police the match was 'extensive'.
A spokesperson said: "The police operation was extensive, and we had a large visible presence during the day and night to ensure visitors to our city were kept safe.
"Our team included police horses, police dogs and officers from a range of teams and departments including drones, traffic officers and motorcyclists.
"We also linked up with our colleagues from Police Scotland’s football unit who worked closely alongside us throughout the night, as well as Aston Villa Football Club."
19 Celtic fans were arrested at the club's Champions League clash (Image: West Midlands Police) Meanwhile, West Midlands Police also thanked footy fans for making the clash an 'enjoyable occasion'.
The force said there was a 'fantastic atmosphere' in the city centre and at the stadium.
READ MORE: 'Number of arrests' made at Celtic's Champions League clash v Aston Villa
The match saw Glasgow's Celtic lose 4 - 2 to the Premier League side.
Aston Villa went up 2 - 0 in the first five minutes of the match thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers.
The Hoops then made a comeback with two quick goals from Adam Idah in the 36th and 38th minutes.
However, the English side managed to net another two goals in the game's second half - making the final score 4 - 2 to Villa.
(Image: West Midlands Police) Superintendent Jack Hadley, who led the operation, said: “Last night we welcomed Celtic fans to Birmingham for the Champions League game against Aston Villa.
"It was really great to have such a large number of visitors to our city.
"We put on a large policing operation to ensure all our visitors were safe.
“We had numerous resources on duty from motorbikes, dogs, public order officers and we’re especially proud to have horses back for yesterday’s policing operation.
"They were a really versatile tool for us to use to engage with the Digbeth community yesterday afternoon, but also to support public order officers at Villa Park last night.
“It’s been really great to welcome Celtic supporters to our city. We’ve met some great people and had some really good engagements with people who have come and said hello to us.
"We’ve had a number of arrests for offences across the city but overall we’re really pleased with how last night has gone.
"We look forward to meeting more football fans visiting our city in the near future.”