BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
UK PM, Sir Keir Starmer has criticized a decision to ban supporters of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv from their team’s match against Aston Villa as “the wrong decision”.
The prime minister joined calls for Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group and West Midlands Police to reverse the decision and allow Maccabi fans to attend the game.
The move to prohibit Maccabi away supporters from attending the Europa League game at Villa Park on November 6 was made amid public safety fears.
Violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans erupted around the Europa League match between Dutch club Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam last year.
Five men were given prison sentences and more than 60 people were detained in the riots, which prompted accusations of deliberate antisemitic attacks.
But Sir Keir slammed the decision, describing it in a post on X, formerly Twitter, as “the wrong decision”.
He said: “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.
“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group – the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for every match at Villa Park – informed Villa that no away fans will be permitted to attend next month’s fixture.
The act was condemned by Jewish political leaders. UEFA, which runs the Europa League, also urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could attend the match in Birmingham.
In a statement, it said: “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.
A honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villans supporters’ club, Andrew Fox, said the decision is “a political message rather than a safety message”.
The retired British Army major told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s no evidence of Maccabi’s fans being particularly violent. They don’t have a track record in all of their previous European games of having a violent fan group.”
He said it sends a “really worrying message” about British society and makes “a febrile political situation worse”.
He said there are plenty of “well-established ways” to keep opposing supporters apart, and that bans were usually reserved for cases where there is “guaranteed violence” from the visiting fans.
The Jewish Leadership Council criticised the decision not to permit Maccabi supporters to attend the Villa game saying “Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors.”
