LONDON (AP) — British police said Friday that 10 people were arrested the previous night around the highly charged Europa League soccer match in Birmingham between English Premier League side Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, a match that saw fans of the Israeli team banned.
West Midlands Police said the match passed without major incident or disruption to the game. It said five of the 10 arrested, including two men accused of racially aggravated public order offenses and another man accused of trying to throw fireworks into the ground, are still being held.
More than 700 officers were deployed around the Villa Park stadium over concerns of clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
A pro-Palestine protest was held outside the stadium before kick-off, where hundreds turned up with Palestinian flags and anti-Israeli banners.
There was a flashpoint as a woman holding an Israeli flag walked past but she was quickly escorted away by police before it escalated.
There was also a counter-Israeli protest at the other side of Villa Park, with protesters holding up signs reading “Keep antisemitism out of football.” Five vehicles were driven past the ground carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.
One of the messages, beside a Star of David, read “Ban hatred not fans” while another carried a quote from French soccer legend Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.
The …