The decision to ban Israeli supporters from attending a football match at Aston Villa attracted widespread condemnation on Thursday night.
But police concerns about Maccabi Tel Aviv’s trip to Birmingham, with its 29 per cent Muslim population, can be traced back to the days after the Europa League draw in August, when protests were already being plotted.
Petition started by outspoken MP
Ayoub Khan, a pro-Palestine Birmingham MP whose Perry Barr constituency is close to Aston Villa’s ground, launched a petition against the Israeli club’s match shortly after the fixture was announced. Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, was quick to add his backing.
Khan insisted it was ‘only right to take drastic measures’ – Getty Images/Mark Kerrison
Khan’s position on Israeli fans is consistent with his previous statements on the Israel-Gaza conflict. The Pakistan-born former Liberal Democrat, who has since registered with Corbyn’s Your Party, previously told Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, that the pro-Palestine “river to the sea” slogan was not anti-Semitic.
Alongside his petition to boycott the match, Khan said in a video posted on X that “we are calling on Uefa, the UK Culture Minister, and the club itself to urgently cancel this fixture or take immediate steps to ensure public safety and community harmony”. The petition quickly gained more than 3,000 signatures.
Dossier handed to police
The campaign against Israeli fans also involved the “Game Over Israel” group, which is supported by the likes of Bob Vylan, the musicians who chanted “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury.
The campaign group handed a dossier about Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to West Midlands Police on October 6.
Game Over Israel campaign director Ashish Prashar told Telegraph Sport: “We collected and verified extensive evidence of this systematic instrumentalisation of football culture in genocide. This report integrates findings – from stadium racism, to assaults in Europe, to soldiers turning genocide into football propaganda – and demonstrates why Israel’s place in global sport is indefensible.”
The dossier also highlighted last November’s Amsterdam riots when Maccabi played Ajax in the Europa League, stating: “[The Maccabi fans’] arrival in Aston – a diverse and predominantly Muslim community – poses a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder.”
The document included claims that “the extremist culture of Israeli football supporters has not remained confined within Israel’s borders”.
That dossier, which was also worked on by Pro-Palestine group the Hind Rajab Foundation, “laid the groundwork” for banning Maccabi fans, campaigners claimed. They admitted, however, that they thought the report would have been dismissed by police.
When the ban on Maccabi fans was announced, a campaigner told Telegraph Sport: “This was two weeks in the making.”
Cleric’s ‘no mercy’ sermon
News that police were advising Birmingham council to ban travelling fans from going to Villa Park came just hours after a Birmingham-based Muslim cleric made it ferociously clear that Israeli fans would face serious, potentially dangerous, hostilities next month.
In a video address that rapidly went viral on X after being posted on Wednesday morning, Asrar Rashid said: “We will not show mercy to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans travelling to Birmingham for the Aston Villa FC match.”
After that sermon, the police-led decision to pull the plug on Maccabi’s away allocation moved rapidly. Police met with Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) and warned that the match was too “high risk” to allow away fans at Villa Park. It is almost without precedent for a SAG, the body responsible for ensuring safety at matches, to push back against such advice.
By 5.15pm on Thursday, with a decision made and news of a potential ban starting to leak out, Villa issued a statement confirming that “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.”
Outrage at Birmingham Council decision
Few expected the outrage that met the decision to ban Maccabi fans. David Mencer, the Israeli government spokesperson, was being interviewed on LBC radio as it was confirmed.
He 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.”
The Jewish Leadership Council said: “It is perverse that away fans should be banned from a football match because West Midlands Police can’t guarantee their safety. Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors.”
Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader branded the decision a “national disgrace” and pressured Sir Keir Starmer to reverse it.
It took the Prime Minister less than an hour to respond. “This is the wrong decision,” he posted on X, four hours after the fan ban was announced. “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.”
On Friday, in a highly unusual move, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) responded, saying it had briefed the Government last week about “potential issues”, including that “restrictions on visiting fans” were an option.
Jack Angelides, the Maccabi Tel Aviv chief executive, then said the move to ban fans prompted fears about the safety of the club’s management, players and staff.
It was also revealed that Joanne Roney, the managing director of Birmingham city council, was previously accused of making the anti-Semitic comments while working at another local authority.
