A football thug has been banned from matches after kicking a police officer in the back during violent clashes outside Villa Park.
Masked troublemaker Dawid Dembler, 35, from Walsall, attacked the officer before fleeing during shocking disorder at Aston Villa’s UEFA Europa Conference League game against Legia Warsaw in November 2023.
The officer, who had his back turned while trying to control the violent crowd, stumbled forward but was not seriously hurt. Dembler was quickly arrested after other officers saw what happened.
That night saw some of the worst football violence in decades, as flares, missiles and debris were thrown. Five officers were injured, more than 40 people were arrested, and police reviewed 700 hours of bodycam footage as part of the investigation.
Dembler admitted assaulting an emergency worker at Birmingham Crown Court in June. On 28 August, he was handed a five-year football banning order, an 18-week suspended prison sentence, and told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Detective Inspector Tom Lyons said:
“This was a cowardly attack on an officer who was working hard to contain a violent crowd. Thanks to body-worn video, Dembler was identified and brought to justice.”
Six other men are due to stand trial next June over the night’s violence.