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10/17 06:02 CDT Pressure mounts on UK police force to reverse decision to ban
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Villa game
Pressure mounts on UK police force to reverse decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv
fans from Villa game
By JILL LAWLESS and PAN PYLAS
Associated Press
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, who has no formal role in specific
policing matters, said the 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."
Simon Foster, the elected official in the city 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 financing some policing costs.
The calls came after Premier League team Aston Villa said in a statement
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.
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."
The match on Nov. 6 comes at a time when 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, an
advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.
Earlier this month, a synagogue was targeted in a car and knife attack that
left two congregants dead.
