Shocking footage of Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain fans clashing in the French capital has emerged ahead of the clubs’ Champions League tie. 

Punches and chairs were thrown between the supporters on the streets of Paris. 

Footage shared by Footy Away Days on X showed a chaotic scene outside a bar in the French capital, with the fan behind the camera muttering: ‘F***ing hell’, with chaos unfolding. 

Stools were being used as weapons and launched in all directions, while punches were thrown in violent scenes. 

It is unclear whether the melee was pre-meditated or what cause the mayhem in the first place.  

It comes just 24 hours before Villa’s biggest game in years with the Midlands club having not reached this stage of Europe’s elite competition since the 1982-83 campaign.

That has inspired an estimated 3,000 Aston Villa fans to travel to Paris this week. With only 2,000 tickets allocated for the Premier League club, 1,000 of those fans are ticketless and will watch the game in the city’s bars. 

Punches are thrown as fans clash in Paris ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie

One supporter charges forward with a chair in ugly scenes in the build-up to the quarter-final

As a result, and despite no history of animosity between the two sets of fans, the game has been ranked three on a scale of five (five being the highest) by the National Division in the Fight Against Hooliganism, which means that there is ‘the risk of trouble’. 

In December 2023, Villa’s Europa League victory over Legia Warsaw was overshadowed by violence outside Villa Park as 46 men were arrested and charged by West Midlands Police. One officer who was engulfed by flames after being hit by a flare suffered burns.

When the Premier League club launched an official complaint to UEFA, Legia Warsaw responded by blaming their hosts’ ticket distribution policy and matchday policing.

France has seen a concerning rise in football violence of late. Just last week, The French interior ministry proposed a ban on Legion X, a fan group for second-tier football club Paris FC, due to it being involved with serious violence for years.

There were concerns ahead of last summer’s Olympics when a Marseille v Lyon game was called off when the visitors’ bus was pelted with stones and beer bottles, leaving Lyon coach Fabio Grosso with facial injuries. Some of the Olympic football matches were played in Marseille but fortunately they passed without major trouble.

Villa have been expecting a fiery reception from the Parc des Princes crowd for Wednesday’s match with midfielder Youri Tielemans backing his goalkeeper Emi Martinez to handle the abuse of the home crowd.

Martinez is one of the prime villains for the French sporting public thanks to his antics after helping Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup Final, and he appeared to pour fuel on the fire by travelling to Paris wearing a cap displaying the four titles he has won at international level.

‘I don’t care about it — we are here to play the game and I don’t mind whatever happens with Emi as long as it stays respectful in football terms,’ said the Villa midfielder.

‘That is probably his style. He is ready for the game and hasn’t spoken differently to us from how he does before any other game. He is focused and looking forward to it.’

Unai Emery’s side reached this stage with an emphatic 6-1 aggregate victory over Club Brugge in the last 16.