This is appalling. As the top comments at the Telegraph say “This is an absolute disgrace. If the police can’t protect the people of Birmingham from the islamists and leftists we’d better get the army in.” and “If the UK cannot protect visiting fans then perhaps the UK should be excluded from international competition until it can”
Israeli fans have been shut out of Aston Villa’s Europa League fixture against Maccabi Tel Aviv after police warnings of unrest in Birmingham.
West Midlands Police had told Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) it should not approve an away allocation on November 6 after a number of threats were made that authorities are treating seriously.
Police added that the decision “is based on current intelligence and previous incidents”, including violent clashes and hate crime offences during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Amsterdam.
Lord Austin, the Government’s trade envoy to Israel, led criticism of the ban, saying he was “appalled” that police had “capitulated to a campaign by troublemakers”. He added that he will be contacting the Home Secretary to complain.
Villa confirmed in a statement that the club “has been informed that no away fans may attend” the fixture “following an instruction from the Safety Advisory Group.. . Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG have formally written to the club and Uefa to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture,” the club said. “West Midlands Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night. The club are in continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities throughout this ongoing process, with the safety of supporters attending the match and the safety of local residents at the forefront of any decision.”
Sources underlined clubs were not involved in the decision, which was based entirely on police intelligence that clashes were likely. Officers have since declared the fixture “high risk” and said their warning was informed by violence last November when the Israeli club travelled to Ajax
As events moved quickly on Thursday, Uefa and Villa’s focus has been on making sure the game still goes ahead. The allocation that was due to be filled by away fans will now be empty, rather than taken up by home fans.
Concerns had already been raised in Israeli media over potential hostilities for fans travelling to a city which has the UK’s largest proportion of Muslim citizens – around 30 per cent. There had also been dismay over a video from Birmingham-based cleric Asrar Rashid. “We will not show mercy to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans traveling to Birmingham for the Aston Villa F.C. match,” he said in a video shared on X.
David Mencer, the Israeli government spokesperson, who was being interviewed on LBC radio as the ban was confirmed, said it was “an extremely sad state of affairs for Britain… that Jews and Israelis would feel in some way unsafe or unable to go to a football match… on the streets of the UK. This is a problem that Britain must face up to.”
