LONDON (AP) — Pressure mounted Friday on police authorities in the British city of Birmingham to back down. Prohibited The decision to allow Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans to attend next month’s Europa League match at Aston Villa, citing safety concerns, drew condemnation from politicians, sports organizations and Jewish groups.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has no formal role in specific police matters, said the recommendation to bar fans of the visiting team from the Nov. 6 match was “Wrong decision” “The role of the police is to ensure that all football fans can enjoy the match without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Councilor Simon Foster, who is responsible for overseeing and holding local police to account, also called for an “immediate review”, while local mayor Richard Parker called on authorities to find a “workable solution” that could see some of the police costs covered by the government.
The call came after Premier League team Aston Villa announced in a statement on Thursday that police had informed the club of “the security concerns outside Stadium Bowl and the ability to deal with potential protests on the night.”
West Midlands Police said the match was deemed to be a high risk “based on current information and past incidents”, including incidents of violence and hate crimes that occurred when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax. in Amsterdam last season.
While fan suspensions are not unheard of in European football, they are rare and are usually 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 become increasingly popular over the past year, due in part to the war in Gaza. Most notably, Maccabi fans clashed violently with city residents in Amsterdam last season, when the team visited Ajax in the Europa League. Dozens of people were arrested and five people were treated in hospital after the night’s violence.
Police were called to action in Italy this week. Including the sniper on the roof. The stadium demolition came after authorities classified the World Cup qualifier between Italy and Israel in the most dangerous category. Approximately 10,000 people participated in the pro-Palestinian march that took place early in the morning. About 50 people with their faces covered later clashed with police who tried to disperse them using water cannons and tear gas.
The match at Villa Park will be Maccabi’s first away match in the Europa League, the second tier of European football, since pro-Palestinian protests erupted at the stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. When the club played against PAOK About 120 Maccabi fans traveled to Greece for the match and were detained by a police cordon before entering the venue.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, weigh votes The Israeli team was previously suspended from the tournament. it was overtaken this month by Ceasefire in Gaza. Although Israel is not in Europe, its national teams and clubs participate in UEFA competitions because many Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia boycott Israel.
Following Thursday’s ban, UEFA called on British authorities to ensure fans of the Israeli team were allowed to attend matches.
“UEFA wants fans to be able to travel and support their teams in a safe, secure and welcoming environment and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of the appropriate measures necessary to achieve this,” it said in a statement.
Maccabi Tel Aviv CEO Jack Angelides expressed “regret for what this potentially suggests.”
“I don’t use this word lightly, but people ask, ‘What does anti-Semitism look like?’ And it often emerges as part of a process…in other words, a small incident that leads to something more sinister,” he told the BBC.
Emily Damali, a dual Israeli-British national who supported Maccabi and English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur and was held by Hamas for more than a year before being released in January, denounced the ban.
“Football is a way to bring people together regardless of faith, color or religion, and this abhorrent decision does exactly the opposite,” she said. “It’s a shame. I want you to come to your senses and reconsider.”
The November 6 match comes at a time when anti-Semitic incidents in the UK are reaching record levels following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews working to eradicate anti-Semitism.
Early this month, A synagogue was targeted Two worshipers were killed in a car and knife attack.
