Donyell Malen: Aston Villa forward suffers cut to head after hit by cup during club’s Europa League clash with Young Boys
An Aston Villa footballer suffered a cut to the head during an Europa League clash after a cup was thrown at him.
The 26-year-old fired Villa into the lead with a headed effort in the 27th minute at Villa Park last night (Thursday 27 November). However, as he went to celebrate in front of the away fans, he was struck by a plastic cup.
Malen immediately grabbed his head before looking back at the crowd. Other Aston Villa players also appeared to be hit by flying objects while celebrating.
Things escalated again just before half-time when Malen scored a second. He initially ran over to the same area but stopped to stay clear of the visiting fans.
However, they continued throwing several objects onto the pitch. Young Boys captain Loris Benito went over to the fans in a bid to calm them down – but his intervention did not appear to work.
A group then began ripping out seats in the away section and throwing them at police. Some fans in the front rows even started punching the police officers and security guards.
The referee refused to restart play until things had settled slightly. As a result, the match was suspended for around five minutes.
Villa went on to win the match 2-1 after Joel Monteiro scored a late consolation goal.