Young Boys manager Gerardo Seoane has apologised after his side’s Europa League tie at Aston Villa was halted for more than five minutes in the first half due to disturbances in the away end — but suggested visiting fans may have felt “provoked” by match-winner Donyell Malen.
The game was delayed for five-and-a-half minutes following the second of Malen’s two goals in Villa’s 2-1 win over the Swiss side at Villa Park on Thursday.
The Dutchman celebrated both goals near the away contingent, situated in the corner of Villa Park’s Doug Ellis Stand, leading to plastic bottles and other objects being thrown onto the pitch — some of which hit Malen after he opened the scoring.
“It’s normal when you score, you want to be with your team-mates,” Seoane told his post-match press conference. “Maybe it was a small provocation (by Malen), I don’t know. Maybe our fans took it this way. But our fans should not react so heavily.
“The referee asked our captain (Loris Benito) to go with the supporters and he was going there to calm (them down) a bit. Some supporters came down to have a talk and some police reacted like they were going to jump on the pitch, but this was not the intention.
“It’s a pity (to go) from the provocation to thinking they would jump on the pitch. And the result is not nice for anybody. We apologise, I don’t feel good. It’s not how we want to act when we are guests somewhere and I think nobody wins and I think everybody loses from this situation.”
The unrest started following Malen’s 27th-minute opening goal, with the Netherlands forward celebrating by the corner flag in front of the away end.
This provoked anger from some sections of the Young Boys support, who threw objects towards Malen, with one hitting him on the head. Malen appeared to sustain a small cut, while team-mate Morgan Rogers lifted up his shirt to check if he also had a mark.
The objects thrown onto the pitch included a number of plastic cups (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images).
Referee Georgi Kabakov spoke to Villa’s captain, Youri Tielemans, and police began to form a line in front of the away supporters, with numbers increasing throughout the first half. Shouts from the away end aimed at the police were audible around the ground.
The lengthy first-half delay occurred after Malen’s second goal in the 42nd minute. The forward again ran towards the Young Boys supporters, but stopped short of going as close to the terraces as he had previously done. Malen grinned as more objects were thrown onto the pitch and Young Boys fans’ anger escalated.
This led to a halt in proceedings, with the referee explaining the situation to the two managers, Villa’s Unai Emery and Seoane.
Young Boys’ captain Benito, along with team-mates, attempted to calm the situation by going towards the away section and asking for fans to stop throwing objects.
Young Boys captain Loris Benito pleads with the away end to behave towards the end of the first half (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images).
Police had started to remove Young Boys supporters from the ground and riot police gathered in front of the away end. The game eventually restarted, around five-and-a-half minutes later.
Villa went in at half-time leading 2-0 and eventually closed out a 2-1 win following Joel Monteiro’s 90th-minute consolation effort, after a goal by Chris Bedia was ruled offside by VAR in the 73rd minute.
A Young Boys supporter is escorted from the ground by police after trouble erupted in the away end (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images).
Emery described the scenes as “not necessary” and, asked about Malen, said: “I think he is OK.”