Aston Villa Hardcore (often shortened to Villa Hardcore or known as Villa Youth when referring to the younger element of the group) is a football hooligan firm associated with the Premier League club Aston Villa, based in Birmingham, England.
Background
The firm have been active since circa 1993, following on from previous Aston Villa hooligan firms the Steamers, C-Crew and Villa Youth. The name 'Hardcore' reportedly arising from a Metropolitan Police officer announcing on his radio: "Here come Villa's hardcore" following the firm's emergence from a train station before an away match against West Ham United in November 1996. The Hardcore have clashed a number of times with the Zulu Warriors, associated with Aston Villa's fiercest rivals Birmingham City.
Incidents involving Aston Villa Hardcore
Fifteen people were arrested in October 2002 in a series of dawn raids in connection with serious disorders committed in the Rocky Lane area of Aston before the game between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in September 2002, in what was described as the "Battle of Rocky Lane". In 2004, Steven Fowler, a Category C hooligan and member of Villa Hardcore, was jailed for six months for his part in the fight in 2002. In 2005 he received a twelve-month jail sentence and was banned from attending football matches for ten years, for his part in an organised brawl between the Villa Hardcore and Chelsea Headhunters at King's Cross in London on 27 March 2004, while five other Villa fans were also jailed. Fowler was jailed again in 2006 when he and 57 other people were found guilty of involvement in a riot at a Handsworth pub on 22 August 2004 - the same day as Villa's Premier League clash with local rivals West Bromwich Albion.
A younger wing of the firm emerged under the banner "Hardcore Youth" with two members of the firm being banned in January 2010 from attending Aston Villa matches, being in the vicinity of Villa Park on match-days, and, when Villa are playing away from home, using trains to travel the country and from entering the relevant town-centre. The pair were branded as "ring-leaders" by police and also were made to pay a fine of £500 each in court. Later on in the year another known Villa youth hooligan was handed a 3-year banning order at Warwick Crown Court whilst being held on remand after serving a 12-month prison sentence. He was handed the banning order after troubled flared outside Birmingham City's ground in 2009 after Villa won the game 1–2 with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring a late winner. Police statistics claim that after the three leaders of the Youth faction of the Hardcore were all banned, reports of violence and potential organised clashes fell by 75%.
In October and December 2010, Aston Villa played Birmingham City, at Villa Park (Premier League, 31 October) and St Andrew's (League Cup, 1 December) and in both games violence between the two sets of supporters and hooligan firms occurred, with many fans being arrested. In the first game, there were scenes of violence outside Villa Park, with Villa fans throwing a flare into Birmingham fans leaving the stadium. There was a small number of arrests including a Birmingham City club chef. In the second of the games, after Birmingham had beaten Villa 2–1, Birmingham supporters invaded the pitch and confronted the visiting Villa fans. In retaliation, Villa fans ripped out seats and hurled them into the Birmingham supporters. A flare was thrown from the Villa fans section into the Birmingham fans on the pitch. Villa fans were convicted for offences relating to an attack on a pub near St. Andrews after the match, frequented by Birmingham City supporters after being identified on CCTV.
On 14 January 2017, around 35 members of the Hardcore were issued with dispersal orders at The Angel Inn in Bilston, where around 55 had gathered before a 5:30pm EFL Championship match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. The Angel Inn was ordered to stop serving drinks and nearby pubs told to lock their doors amid fears of violent disorder. The Midland Metro service was briefly disrupted as a tram was handed over to police for the purpose of transporting the fans out of the city. About 30 police officers, some with dogs, took part in the operation between 3pm and 5pm. In a statement, West Midlands Police said: “To be really clear, these were a group of people we strongly believed were together to cause trouble.” Villa lost the match 1–0, and Villa fans were criticised after destroying toilets in the away section of the stadium.