Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Zarko Lazetic said his team was forced to arrive at Villa Park five hours early for a tense Europa League match against Aston Villa. The match, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Villa, turned into an important political event, with supporters of the Israeli club banned from attending due to safety concerns.
In preparation for pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations, a major security operation involving more than 700 police officers, police horses, dogs and drone units has been launched. Six people were arrested before kickoff, three of them on suspicion of racially aggravated crimes. Lazetic expressed the team’s displeasure at being told by local police to arrive at the stadium at 3 p.m.
“It wasn’t normal,” the Serbian player said after the match, which defeated his team with goals from Ian Maassen and Donyell Malen. “We sat there… there was nothing to do. We came five hours before (the game). It was very difficult. It wasn’t our decision.”
Goals from Dutch duo Maartzen and Maren, the latter from the penalty spot, sealed Villa’s victory and automatically increased their chances of progressing to the knockout stages. They are currently in 6th place in the league, with games against Young Boys, Basel, Fenerbahce and Salzburg yet to be played.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is once again unable to address non-football issues surrounding the match.
He said: “Sorry, I respect everything, but I can’t talk about politics or decisions here. I only want to talk about football, I only know football!”
Reflecting on the match, he said, “I’m happy after the game, but I’m not satisfied with our performance, but we understand the difficulties we have and we’ll be ready for the next game.”
“We conceded more chances than planned and made some mistakes, but overall we dominated in the 90 minutes, managed the game with good results up front, and managed the players to keep a good balance.
“We used our passion and experience in Europe. Two years ago, at home in the Conference League, we gained experience and are trying to understand the difficulties.
“Don’t get frustrated and try to use it passionately. It came in the second half.”
