- Sport
- Football
Donyell Malen was struck on the top of his head by a cup that was thrown from the away end as the Young Boys fans clashed with police and stewards at Villa Park
Jamie BraidwoodFriday 28 November 2025 08:34 GMTComments
open image in gallerySupporters of Young Boys clash with police and stewards in the stands after Aston Villa's Donyell Malen scored their second goal as players of the Swiss club appeal for calm (Action Images via Reuters)
Get the Adam Clery Football Column. A newsletter that unpacks the absurdities and oddities of the beautiful game
The ACFC newsletter: unpacking football’s absurdities
Unpack football’s oddities with the ACFC newsletter
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Young Boys manager Gerardo Seoane apologised after his team’s Europa League match at Aston Villa was marred by crowd trouble, but claimed that the club’s supporters were “provoked” by Villa goalscorer Donyell Malen.
Malen scored twice in the first half of the 2-1 win but the Netherlands international was left bleeding after he was pelted by objects from the away end at Villa Park. Malen celebrated both goals in front of the Young Boys supporters but was cut on the head after being struck by a cup thrown from the away fans.
The match was halted for more than five minutes after Malen’s second goal as the Young Boys captain Loris Benito appealed to supporters to calm down. Fans also clashed with police, with images capturing some fans throwing punches, and officers in riot gear were deployed in the second half.
Donyell Malen 🤝 Youri TielemansAston Villa take the lead after a brilliant ball and finish...But some unsavoury behaviour from the away fans as Malen celebrates!📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/JB3JQhgYKc
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2025
The Swiss team have a history of fan trouble and they have been hit with several sanctions from Uefa in recent years. Supporters were fined €28,250 for similar issues at Manchester City and around €18,000 for the use of pyrotechnics at Celtic in February, while they were ordered to play a game behind closed doors last season after fans let off pyrotechnics against Inter Milan.
“It’s normal when you score, you want to be with your team-mates,” Young Boys manager Seoane said in 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 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.”
open image in galleryMalen suffered a small cut to the head after being hit by a plastic cup (Getty Images)
open image in gallery(Nick Potts/PA Wire)The Aston Villa manager Unai Emery confirmed that Malen was “OK” and said: “We need respect for both sides. It is not necessary to get a moment like we had today. Respect for both sides.”
Villa were keen to assert their authority from the first whistle and Malen’s effort from range inside four minutes looked destined for the back of the net, only for goalkeeper Marvin Keller to tip the ball over the crossbar.
The home side made the pressure count and grabbed the opening goal in the 27th minute. Youri Tielemans collected the ball on the edge of the area and had time and space to lift it onto the head of Malen who guided the ball beyond Keller.
In the aftermath of the goal, Malen and his team-mates went to celebrate in front of the away support and objects were thrown towards them. Malen came away from it sporting a cut to the head.
open image in gallery(AFP via Getty Images)
open image in gallery(Action Images via Reuters)The hosts were going through the gears and had their second three minutes before the break. Morgan Rogers played a neat pass to Malen who cut inside and dispatched expertly into the back of the net.
Like his first celebration, Malen went towards the away fans and missiles were again thrown which caused clashes with police and the referee to stop the game for five minutes.
On the pitch, Villa continued to boss proceedings. They thought they had a third when a long ball over the top was played to Rogers and he squared to Malen who thought he had a hat-trick, but the assistant flagged for offside to cut celebrations short.
Young Boys looked to have halved the deficit when Alan Virginius played the ball across for Chris Bedia to convert, but, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up.
The visitors did get their goal in the 90th minute when Monteiro latched onto a pass from Gregory Wuthrich and slammed into the back of the net, but Villa held on despite late pressure.
Includes reporting from PA
More about
Aston VillaYoung BoysEuropa LeagueJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
