The prime minister has said blocking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a football match in Birmingham is the “wrong decision”.Aston Villa said on Thursday that the city’s Safety Advisory group – responsible for issuing safety certificates – had advised that fans of the Israeli club would not be permitted to attend the 6 November Europa League match. West Midlands Police said it supported the decision, saying it had classified the fixture as “high-risk”.Sir Keir Starmer criticised the move, saying “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets” and that the role of police was “to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation”.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded the decision a “national disgrace” and suggested Sir Keir should act to reverse it.She wrote on X that the prime minister should “guarantee that Jewish fans can walk into any football stadium in this country”.”If not, it sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go.”West Midlands Police said the decision to prohibit visiting supporters had been based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.More than 60 people were arrested over the violence which city officials described as a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.Aston Villa said it was in “continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities,” with the safety of …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe prime minister has said blocking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a football match in Birmingham is the “wrong decision”.Aston Villa said on Thursday that the city’s Safety Advisory group – responsible for issuing safety certificates – had advised that fans of the Israeli club would not be permitted to attend the 6 November Europa League match. West Midlands Police said it supported the decision, saying it had classified the fixture as “high-risk”.Sir Keir Starmer criticised the move, saying “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets” and that the role of police was “to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation”.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded the decision a “national disgrace” and suggested Sir Keir should act to reverse it.She wrote on X that the prime minister should “guarantee that Jewish fans can walk into any football stadium in this country”.”If not, it sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go.”West Midlands Police said the decision to prohibit visiting supporters had been based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.More than 60 people were arrested over the violence which city officials described as a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.Aston Villa said it was in “continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities,” with the safety of …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
