Maccabi Tel Aviv fans should be allowed to attend the game, and policing authorities should do everything they can to make it happen.
The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa’s Europa League match in Birmingham is handing antisemites victory.
Aston Villa announced the ban after being instructed to do so by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which issues safety certificates for every match at Villa Park. The decision has sparked outrage from politicians and UK Jewish leaders. The only parties that have welcomed the decision seem to be those who have previously called for Israeli teams to be boycotted, not by those – Israelis and Jews – who are at the centre of the safety concerns.
Emily Damari, a former hostage with family links to the UK, says she survived a Hamas terror attack and is now banned from a football match in the UK. “I am shocked to my core with this outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
UEFA, which runs the Europa League, has the authority to place bans on visiting support, but the body has come out against the decision and has urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend the match.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster called for Birmingham council officials and West Midlands Police to review the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
In a statement, he said: “The safety and security of all the people and communities of the West Midlands, including visitors to the West Midlands, is my top priority. That is absolute, unconditional and non-negotiable.”
The West Midlands Police has said the fixture is high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents.”
If Israeli fans visiting Birmingham are at a high risk, then this is a serious reflection of the current anti-Israel climate, and it must not be ignored. Preventing Israeli fans from attending the game in Birmingham is giving in to the antisemites.
Supporters of this decision point to the riots that took place in Amsterdam in 2024 between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. But the narrative that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were instigators has been largely disproven by footage of Israeli fans being beaten in the streets by violent pro-Palestinian mobs that were not there to attend the game – only to instigate violence and provoke a reaction from Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. If this decision had been made to mitigate trouble between football fans, UEFA would be endorsing Aston Villa’s announcement, or delegating the decision to the police at the very least. Instead, the governing body wants Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to be allowed to attend.
There is, however, a third suspicion. The decision by the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group has been welcomed by local MP, Ayoub Khan, whose constituency includes Villa Park and who has led a campaign calling for Aston Villa’s match against Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv to be cancelled altogether. In an interview with the media, he insists that this is a policing matter, but also seems quite pleased to remind people about the fabricated “genocide” that he says Israel has committed in Gaza.
Then there is Birmingham-based Islamic preacher Asrar Rashid who urged his large social media following to show “no mercy” to Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans if they visit the city for the game. Citing the Hadith, he told a lecture that “mercy has its time and place” – but not when the Tel Aviv fans visit Birmingham for the match at Villa Park.
Mr Rashid has previously been filmed making divisive comments, including in July when he addressed anti-Israel protestors on the streets of Birmingham. A video showed him saying: “We take up armed struggle and we are not ashamed of it. We have jihad in our Koran, and jihad is standing up against oppression. What the Palestinian people are doing today is armed struggle, to stand up to the bankers’ state, which is known as Israel.”
Even if the decision by West Midlands Police is solely over concern for the safety of visiting Israelis, the answer is not to ban them. The answer is for police to go after those calling for violence against Jews and to crack down on their unacceptable antisemitism; and for politicians, community leaders, and sporting authorities to condemn all attempts to boycott Israel.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans should be allowed to attend the game, and policing authorities should do everything they can to make it happen.
Photo of Aston Villa: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com
