Aston Villa fans have aimed a series of chants at the empty away end during their Europa League clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Maccabi fans were banned from purchasing tickets for the match, with West Midlands Police confirming to Sky News prior to kick-off that they had received intelligence that 'a section' of Maccabi supporters 'engage in quite significant levels of hooliganism'.
They added that their advice to block ticket sales was 'exclusively' made 'on the basis of the behaviour of a sub-section of Maccabi fans', with possible threats against Israeli fans noted as a 'consideration'.
Over 700 police were deployed outside Villa Park amid the expectation of protests from pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
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Six people were arrested before kick-off, as per Sky News, with WMP confirming a 21-year-old man had been arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask and a 17-year-old boy for failing to comply with a dispersal order.
Three others were arrested for racially aggravated public order offences, while another was arrested for a breach of the peace.
The fact that a football match was going to be played inside Villa Park seemed to almost blend into the background before kick-off, with more focus on developments on the outskirts of the stadium.
And once the game got underway, Villa fans made light of the situation and the fact that there was an empty away section of the stadium.
As per PA's Jonathan Veal, the home crowd chanted 'empty seats my Lord' and 's**t support my Lord' at the empty seats.
They were also heard chanting 'shall we sing a song for you' and 'your support is f**king s**t'.
On the pitch, Unai Emery's side came close to opening the scoring shortly before half-time, when Donyell Malen's close-range effort was saved by Maccabi goalkeeper Roi Mishpati.
They then took the lead in stoppage time through Ian Maatsen's left-footed finish from a tight angle.
Villa went into Thursday night on six points from their three Europa League matches thus far this season, having recorded wins over Bologna and Feyenoord before a surprise defeat at Go Ahead Eagles on matchweek three.
Topics: Aston Villa, Europa League, Football
Ryan Smart