Local police have warned any travelling Chelsea fans to avoid wearing club colours in Warsaw for their Conference League quarter final clash on Thursday.
The Blues travel to the Polish capital on Thursday evening in their bid to secure silverware in Enzo Maresca’s first season at the club, in a competition they are heavy favourites to win.
Their quarter-final clash takes them to Poland, where a hostile environment is expected for the club, judging by warnings from both Chelsea and the Warsaw police.
Chelsea have warned fans against sharing the location of the ticket pick-up point in Warsaw with anyone outside of fellow away stand ticket holders.
The police meanwhile have recommended that fans do not wear Chelsea shirts while out and about in the Polish capital.
They also stated that any fans caught in ‘cases of lawbreaking’ will see police act ‘decisively’.
Chelsea fans have been warned by Polish police ahead of their clash with Legia Warsaw amid fears of attack by Europe’s most notorious hooligans
Legia Warsaw ultras clashed with fans and ranks of police outside Villa Park last season
No Legia fans were allowed in but supporters launched missiles into the ground from outside
‘Both uniformed and plainclothes police officers will be monitoring the areas adjacent to the stadium and will ensure that public order is not disrupted. They will respond decisively to any cases of lawbreaking,’ read a statement from the Polish Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
‘The huge interest in this match among football fans will mean that there will be more police patrols on the routes to the stadium that day. The capital city police will make sure that every fan arrives safely to the match and returns home safely after the match.
‘We appeal to participants and all persons present at the venue of a sports event to inform the police about any threats and disturbing situations they observe.’
Legia Warsaw have seen their own allocation for the Chelsea return leg cut, and the Blues will only get 742 tickets for the trip to Warsaw, though the Blues are privately pushing UEFA to help them receive an increased allocation
The small number is due to safety and security reasons. Last season, Legia Warsaw fans were handed a five-game ban from away matches in Europe after 46 men were charged following clashes with police outside their Conference League game at Aston Villa.
Two were charged with assaulting police officers and another with possessing a knife, with fences and a lighting pole broken – even though away fans were already banned from Villa Park that night.
The good news is that given the game is so soon, Chelsea will not be penalising those supporters unable to purchase a ticket via their UEFA away scheme.
Legia Warsaw’s ultras, the Teddy Boys ’95, carry a fearsome reputation across Europe and are regularly featured in lists of the biggest such groups in the game.
Chelsea travel to the Polish capital to take on Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League
The Polish club’s Ultras are considered to be among the most fearsome in the game
Forty-six fans were charged with public order offences after the Aston Villa match
Legia fans surrounded by Ukrainian police officers ahead of a clash with Zorya Luhansk in 2015
They stole the headlines last season when unfurling an impressive tifo in a Conference League clash in response to having a stand closed for fan trouble in an earlier match.
The ultras section was closed for the knockout round play-off second leg following fan trouble before the tie against AZ Alkmaar, with only U14s allowed in the home end, with a ‘this time you won UEFA’ banner placed behind rows of empty seats before kick-off.
But it proved to be a false flag as the Ultras had simply moved to another part of the stadium for the game.
And they unfurled a ‘Surprise motherf*****s!’ banner and let off fireworks as the teams lined-up at the Stadion Wojska Polskiego.
They have also previously held up a banner depicting UEFA officials as pigs with the words ‘6-1. Because football doesn’t matter, money does!’ after being kicked out of the competition following an administrative issue.
The Teddy Boys also however have a reputation for controversial behaviour and hooliganism.
Enzo Maresca has taken the unusual step of arming his Chelsea players with footage of the Legia Warsaw atmosphere ahead of Thursday night’s Conference League quarter-final first leg.
The Blues are set for a challenging away clash in the Polish capital. The Premier League visitors have only been allowed to bring 742 supporters with them due to security concerns, with Legia previously issued a five-game ban away from home and fined £86,000 following trouble in a Europa League clash at Aston Villa in November 2023.
Legia fans celebrate the 1-0 win over the Ukrainian side in the Europa League play-offs
Warsaw police have promised ‘decisive’ action for any fans caught in ‘cases of lawbreaking’
The Ultra group caught the headlines last season with an eye-catching banner aimed at UEFA
Enzo Maresca has revealed he shared footage of the Legia Warsaw atmosphere in the build-up
Speaking on Wednesday night in Warsaw, Maresca said: ‘We try to show them some of the environment in this stadium so they can adapt and be ready tomorrow.
‘Fortunately, you know better than me, in England almost everywhere the environment is good, it’s nice.
‘For sure, tomorrow will be even more, but I always said the same that the players, they are lucky and they have to think that they are lucky to experience that kind of games.’
Asked by Mail Sport if he had sent video clips to his players, Maresca said: ‘Yes, yes.
‘We try always to give them the big picture, not only what they can do on the ball, what they can do off the ball, and sometimes you also need to show them where you go because we have players from different parts of the world, so probably some of them they don’t know exactly. We showed them also some of the environment in this stadium.’
