Aston Villa-Maccabi ban latest: Home Office was told last week about plan to block Tel Aviv fans, police say

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has said it supports the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a Europa League match at Aston Villa next month and criticised the Prime Minister for opposing the action.

Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, said: “(Sir Keir) Starmer’s willingness to conflate opposition to Israel’s crimes with antisemitism has now taken him to a place where he defends, supposedly in the name of anti-racism, the rights of avowedly anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, violent thugs to demonstrate their hate in a British city and at a football match.

“The Maccabi fan base has an egregious track record of racist violence that led them to being banned from the city of Amsterdam. Starmer wants Birmingham to host people who chant for Palestinians to be raped and their villages burned.

“The fixture should not be going ahead. Israel and all Israeli clubs should be removed from international competitions.”

West Midlands Police cited “previous incidents” involving Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans.

Last year, violent clashes broke out between Ajax fans and supporters of the Israeli football team.

Amsterdam’s police chief said Maccabi supporters attacked a taxi and set a Palestinian flag on fire the day before the match.

But Mayor Halsema said the actions were no excuse for what came later as violence erupted in the European city.

Holly Evans unpacks how last year’s clashes unfolded:

Some Pro-Palestine groups have praised the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a football match in Birmingham.

Groups including Youth Front for Palestine, Game Over Israel, and Football Against Apartheid posted a joint statement on social media, saying the move was the “bare minimum”.

“This victory is a clear example of pressure working,” it said.

“We won’t stop until Israel is out of UEFA and FIFA.”

The home secretary or the prime minister must intervene to overturn the ban on fans of an Israeli football team attending a match in Birmingham, Kemi Badenoch said.

The Conservative leader told broadcasters the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters was “a national disgrace”, adding: “We cannot be a country where we tell Jewish people that they can’t come to watch football because their security is not going to be looked after.

“What I want to see is the police finding ways to make sure they can be secure, and sending the message to the Islamists and those that are pushing anti-Jewish hatred that this does not happen in the UK.”

Asked if the police should overturn the ban, Mrs Badenoch said: “Yes they should, and if not the Home Secretary should get involved.”

She added: “They need to give confidence to Jewish people in our country and if the Home Secretary can’t do it, then the Prime Minister should.

“He needs to show that he has got a backbone and isn’t so weak that he will just allow Jewish people to be terrorised here.”

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Former top prosecutor Nazir Afzal told The Independent: “I wouldn’t ban the Maccabi football fans from the Aston Villa match as awful as their chants might be, but I understand why the police are concerned.

“I would escort them to the match, let them watch their team … and then escort them away afterwards.”

The Independent’s crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports:

The Home Office was briefed about safety fears and possible restrictions on the Maccabi Tel Aviv match with Aston Villa last week, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) has revealed.

The specialist team, which works to help reduce incidents of football violence, said they helped West Midlands Police to access full details of previous incidents in Amsterdam.

“Following this, the Home Office were briefed last week by the UKFPU about the potential issues and options that the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) may take including restrictions on visiting fans,” the UKFPU said in a statement.

“The Safety Advisory Group is made up of independent bodies who make recommendations to the licensing authorities and the priority is always the safety of those attending matches and the wider public. This process was supported the Sports Ground Safety Authority.

“It is important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions. If there are any adverse incidents, then they are the ones that will be held responsible.”

They repeated their suggestion that if the government want a role in regulating major football events, they need to change the law to take responsibility for the decision-making.

The statement added: “The UKFPU, in the wake of the Casey Review following the serious disorder at Wembley in 2021, has suggested that if the government want a role in regulating football events that could be termed ‘events of national significance’, then they need to bring forward legislation to formalise this to ensure accountability sits with decision-makers.”