LONDON (AP) — Pressure mounted Friday on police authorities in the English city of Birmingham to reverse a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans attending a Europa League game at Aston Villa next month over security concerns, a decision that drew condemnation from politicians, sports organizations and Jewish groups.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the police recommendation to bar the visiting team’s fans from the Nov. 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.”
Starmer spokesman Geraint Ellis said Friday that “the prime minister has been angered by the decision” and the government was working urgently to overturn it.
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 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 soccer, 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 the 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 Italian and Israeli national teams after authorities placed the game in the highest risk category. Around 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march earlier in the day. Later around 50 people — with their faces covered — clashed with police, who used water cannons 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 soccer's second-tier competition, since pro-Palestinian protests took place at the stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece when the club played PAOK on Sept. 24. About 120 Maccabi fans traveled to Greece for that game and were held behind a police cordon before entering the venue.
European soccer'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 isn't in Europe, its national team and its clubs play in UEFA competitions, as many Muslim nations in the Middle East and Asia boycott the country.
UEFA says fans should be able to attend
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 signaling.”
“I don’t use this term lightly but people ask, ‘What does antisemitism look like?’ And it’s often manifested as part of a process … in other words small events leading up to something that’s more sinister,” he told the BBC.
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, condemned the ban.
“Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, color or religion, and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite," she said. “Shame on you. I hope you come to your senses and reconsider.”
Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, a charity that provides advice and protection for British Jews.
Earlier this month, a synagogue was targeted in a car and knife attack that left two congregants dead.
