Maccabi Tel Aviv has said it will decline any tickets offered to their fans for their Europa League fixture against Aston Villa next month.
It comes as Keir Starmer’s government had been working with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to ensure fans from both sides could attend the fixture at Villa Park, Birmingham, on November 6.
In a statement released on Monday, the Israeli club said that a “toxic atmosphere” had put the safety of fans wanting to attend “very much in doubt”.
It said: “The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount and from hard lessons learned, we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Birmingham’s safety advisory group, the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for every match at Villa Park, last week said that no away fans will be allowed to watch.
The Prime Minister then weighed in, calling the move to bar fans “wrong” and for it to be overturned.
The government had been expecting West Midlands Police to set out this week what they would need to police the game safely with both sets of fans present.
Downing Street said earlier on Monday that the UK Football Policing Unit was “reaching out” to Israeli authorities to understand why an Israeli Premier League match between rivals Hapoel and Maccabi was called off on Sunday.
Trouble flared before kick-off in and around the Bloomfield Stadium, a venue shared by Hapoel and Maccabi, with violent clashes taking place between supporters.
Maccabi’s statement came just hours after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy vowed that resources would not be the determining factor as to whether their fans would be able to attend the game or not.
She confirmed the government was working alongside West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to “consider all the options available” to “ensure fans” from both clubs could attend the game.
“This decision was not made in a vacuum,” Ms Nandy told the Commons on Monday.
“It is set against the backdrop of rising antisemitism here and across the world, and an attack on a synagogue in Manchester in which two innocent men were killed.
“It has a real-world impact on a community who already feel excluded and afraid.
“It is therefore completely legitimate to support the independence of the police to conduct that risk assessment and to question the conclusion that follows when it excludes the people at the heart of that risk.
“Following the decision last week, the government has been working with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to support them to consider all the options available, and to tell us what resources are needed to manage the risks, to ensure fans from both teams can attend safely.
“If the assessment is revised, the safety advisory group will meet again to discuss options.”
Ayoub Khan, whose Birmingham Perry Barr constituency is home to the Villa Park Stadium, claimed MPs hoping to overturn the decision were playing “fast and loose with” community safety.
While Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree Paula Barker warned of a “slippery slope when safety concerns are ignored” at football stadiums, following the Hillsborough crowd crush in 1989.
