UK government in talks to reverse ban on Israeli fans

The UK government has pledged action to resolve the ban on fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv attending next month's Europa League game at Aston Villa, as it emerged it was warned of the proposals last week.

Discussions are happening "at pace, across government" to overturn the ban on visiting supporters attending the match at Villa Park on 6 November," Downing Street said.

The UK Home Office has been speaking with police in Birmingham to offer them support, and prime minister Keir Starmer wants to do "everything in his power" to ensure Jewish people feel safe in the UK, a No 10 spokesperson added.

Authorities in Birmingham are facing mounting pressure to overturn the ban on visiting fans from attending the game.

But senior officers at the UK Football Policing Unit backed the ban, saying it was "important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions".

The unit added that the Home Office had been "briefed last week" about "potential issues" with visiting fans and the possibility that restrictions might be imposed. However, home secretary Shabana Mahmood was not informed of the final decision until it was made public on Thursday night.

The fixture has been classified high risk by West Midlands Police based on "current intelligence and previous incidents".

The force pointed to violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred around the November 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Amsterdam's council voted last month to ban the Israeli club and its fans from the city.

Fans of other teams around Europe have also held demonstrations around Maccabi visits, protesting against Israel's war in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire is now in place. Around 120 Maccabi fans attended a Europa League game in Greece against PAOK last month, under police protection.

Football Against Racism in Europe said it would be "reluctant to question" the approach of West Midlands Police, claiming that Maccabi fans have been "the biggest perpetrators of racism in Israeli football" over the past year.

Fighting in the streets of Amsterdam after Maccabi's trip to play Ajax in November 2024:

Conversations aimed at overturning the ban began last night, and have also included a phone call between communities secretary Steve Reed and Birmingham City Council.

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy is "meeting officials to discuss what more can be done to try to find a way through to resolve this, and what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely", a spokesperson said.

"You can expect to hear further updates today. I won’t pre-empt the conversations, but these are happening at pace, across Government, with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this."

The prime minister has been "angered by the decision", said the spokesperson, adding: "While of course this is an operational decision, we are perfectly entitled to speak out on fundamental principles of fairness like this."

"The prime minister will do everything in his power to give Jewish communities the security they deserve and, as he has made clear, we think this is the wrong decision."

Birmingham’s safety advisory group (SAG), which brings together the council and police force, has faced widespread criticism from across the political spectrum for its decision to implement the ban.

The West Midlands’ police and crime commissioner Simon Foster called for Birmingham council officials and West Midlands Police to review the decision.

The review would "determine whether or not this decision and recommendation is appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim", he said.

Labour mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker suggested the government could finance the policing costs should the ban be overturned.

He wrote on social media: "Whilst I respect West Midlands Police, if the government are willing to support in terms of resource then there should be a review of the decision that has been made."

"This is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying: 'No Jews allowed'"

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year before being released in January, and who supports Maccabi and Tottenham, was among those who criticised the ban.

She said: "I do wonder what exactly has become of UK society. This is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying: 'No Jews allowed’.

"What has become of the UK where blatant antisemitism has become the norm? What a sad world we are living in."

Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa’s Jewish Villans supporters’ club, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the decision to ban fans of the Israeli side is "a political message rather than a safety message" and there was "no evidence of Maccabi’s fans being particularly violent".

Jack Angelides, the chief executive of Maccabi, said he did not want to take security issues lightly but told the BBC the team has travelled to places such as Turkey, where he said the sentiment is "not so kind towards Israeli teams", but the police "were out in force" and there were no incidents.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister to "get involved" if the police did not reverse its decision to ban Maccabi supporters.

She said Starmer "needs to show he has got a backbone and isn't so weak that he will just allow Jewish people to be terrorised here".

UEFA, which runs the Europa League, urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi fans could attend the Villa Park fixture.

However, the Fare network (Football Against Racism in Europe), which sends reports on discriminatory incidents at national team and club matches around Europe to UEFA, said it could not disagree with the SAG's assessment, saying in a statement about Maccabi fans: "In the past year they have been the biggest perpetrators of racism in Israeli football. In Europe, their away supporters bring many of the same poisonous chants and messages, which leads to them being scrutinised.

"A number of police sources and local authorities have raised concerns about their presence in cities before and after European club matches – Amsterdam have now banned them and there were some concerns raised in Malta recently, and so given the expertise of the West Midlands Police in managing football matches, the risk assessments that they are likely to have undertaken, we would be reluctant to question their approach."

It is understood Fare has made multiple referrals concerning discriminatory behaviour by Maccabi fans to UEFA over the last 10 years, while the reference in the statement to Maccabi being the "biggest perpetrators" of racism in their domestic football is understood to be based on reports in the Israeli media that 77 racist chants by Maccabi fans were recorded last season.

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