UK police under pressure to end ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans

Fans of the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv have been barred from attending a Europa League game at Aston Villa.

Pressure is mounting on police authorities in the English city of Birmingham to reverse a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans attending a Europa League game at Aston Villa next month over security concerns.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the police recommendation to bar the visiting team’s fans from the November 6 game was “the wrong decision” and that “the role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

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Starmer’s spokesperson Geraint Ellis said on Friday that “the prime minister has been angered by the decision” and the government was working urgently to overturn it.

The decision also drew condemnation from other politicians, sport organisations and Jewish groups.

Simon Foster, the elected official in Birmingham responsible for overseeing the local police force and holding it to account, also urged an “immediate review”, while local mayor Richard Parker urged authorities to find “a workable solution” that may involve the government covering some policing costs.

Security worries over game

Premier League team Aston Villa said on Thursday that police had informed the club that “they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night.”

West Midlands Police said it had deemed the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents”, including violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

Fan bans are not unheard of in European football, but they are a rarity and typically based on a history of violence between fans of rival clubs. There is no history of violence between Aston Villa and Maccabi fans.

However, Maccabi fans have been increasingly in the spotlight over the past year or so, partly linked to Israel’s war in Gaza. Most notably, Maccabi fans clashed violently with city residents in Amsterdam last season when the team visited for a Europa League game against Ajax. Dozens were arrested, and five people were treated in hospital following a night of violence.

In Italy this week, there was a heavy police presence, including snipers on the roof of the stadium, for a World Cup qualifier between the Italian and Israeli national teams after authorities placed the game in the highest risk category. About 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march earlier in the day. Later, approximately 50 people – with their faces covered – clashed with police, who used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse them.

The game at Villa Park will be Maccabi’s first away match in the Europa League, European football’s second-tier competition, since pro-Palestinian protests took place at the stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece when the club played PAOK on September 24. About 120 Maccabi fans travelled to Greece for that game and were held behind a police cordon before entering the venue.

European football’s governing body UEFA was weighing a vote to suspend Israeli teams from its competitions before that was overtaken this month by the ceasefire in Gaza. Though Israel is not in Europe, its national team and its clubs play in UEFA competitions.

UEFA says Maccabi fans should be able to attend Villa Park

Following Thursday’s ban, UEFA urged British authorities to ensure the Israeli team’s fans could go to the match.

“UEFA wants fans to be able to travel and support their team in a safe, secure and welcoming environment, and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow this to happen,” it said in a statement.

Maccabi Tel Aviv chief executive Jack Angelides expressed “dismay about what this potentially is signalling”.

Meanwhile Emily Damari, a British Israeli dual national who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year before being released in January, and who supports Maccabi, as well as English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur, also condemned the ban.

“Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion, and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite,” she said. “Shame on you. I hope you come to your senses and reconsider.”