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Birmingham City fans have expressed dismay at one of their youth players partying with Aston Villa supporters ahead of the Europa League final in Istanbul.
Villa take on Freiburg tonight in a bid to claim European glory, and thousands of supporters have made the trip to Turkey to cheer on Unai Emery’s men.
Among them is youth defender Caleb Sanders, who had an option on his contract triggered at the end of the season to remain with the Championship club for another year.
Sanders was spotted by other Villa fans shirtless, singing club songs in the city and holding a flare, as he and other supporters prepared for action against the Bundesliga side.
But sections of Birmingham fans didn’t see the funny side of things. After the photo was shared on a Blues fan page, one supporter replied: ‘Boom, contract termination.’
Another shared: ‘I am all for him supporting another football team but what about the saying, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
Birmingham Under-21 player Caleb Sanders was spotted in Istanbul supporting Aston Villa before the Europa League final
Sanders signed a new contract with the Blues in the summer as an option to extend his deal was taken up
It wasn’t all negative, however. A number of Birmingham fans leapt to the defence of Sanders, suggesting he is well within his rights to cheer on the side he supports.
One fan wrote: ‘Don’t see the issue. He employed by us. But supports them lot. Gone to see the club he supports, in a once in a lifetime European final. We all would do the same if we played for them lot and it was blues in a European final.’
Another posted: ‘Bit cheeky but don’t see the problem tbh. If this was the other way round we’d all be laughing our b****cks off. How many people support the club they play for. Just laugh it off. He’ll get his stick when he’s back in training haha.’
Villa and Birmingham are arch rivals due to their geographical locations, with the two stadiums just 2.4miles away.
Due to their respective leagues, however, with Birmingham recently dipping to as low as League One, they have not faced off since 2019, when Villa came out 1-0 winners in the Championship.
That game also saw then-Villa captain Jack Grealish attacked by a pitch-invading Birmingham fan, who would receive a 14-week jail sentence.
