Jewish communities warned West Midlands police that a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a match against Aston Villa “could be perceived as antisemitic”, documents show.
Supporters of the Israeli team were banned from attending the Europa League fixture at Villa Park in Birmingham on 6 November, causing outrage, with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, condemning it as “wrong” and suggesting it amounted to antisemitism.
The Guardian obtained redacted minutes from a meeting of the council-led safety advisory group on 16 October – the day the ban was announced – via a freedom of information request.
In comments attributed to West Midlands police, the document states: “Jewish community groups have expressed concern that banning away fans could be perceived as antisemitic, rather than a public safety decision.
“This perception could undermine trust and increase reputational risk for authorities and the club.”
According to the document, the police also said it was aware of concerns among the Aston Villa fanbase surrounding hate crime incidents “particularly isolated incidents of antisemitic abuse”.
The revelations come after West Midlands assistant chief constable, Mike O’Hara, apologised to members of Birmingham’s Jewish communities after he told MPs that some had expressed support for the ban at a committee hearing in early December.
A spokesperson for the force later clarified: “It was never the intention of the officer to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who had explicitly expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans.”
The names of more than 25 people in attendance at the 16 October meeting have been redacted, except for those of two councillors, Waseem Zaffar and Mumtaz Hussain. Five representatives of West Midlands police were also present.
According to the document, the force told the group it had “significant intelligence indicating potential for disorder” involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans “based on recent fixtures”, citing incidents in Italy, Norway and Amsterdam.
“Other sports, eg baseball in Holland, have also seen disorder when Israeli teams were involved,” police said according to the minutes.
“These incidents suggest that Maccabi Tel Aviv’s presence could attract protest and disorder, even outside the football context.”
Police also said that there was a “high likelihood of protest activity linked to the fixture whether aimed at MTA [Maccabi Tel Aviv] supporters or MTA themselves. This sits at the highest threat,” according to the document.
However, the force also acknowledged the risk level of the match remained at “medium” without away fans due to community tensions and the potential for spontaneous protest.
The decision to introduce the ban, which was not objected to by any members of the group, was made on the rationale that there was a “high risk associated with the presence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans” and that “community tensions could be exacerbated”.
The head of West Midlands police has been recalled to parliament next Tuesday by the Home Affairs Committee, which is scrutinising the decision to ban away fans.
Ahead of the hearing, further details have been provided by chief constable Craig Guildford from West Midlands police about the intelligence that led to the ban – including notes of an email summarising a meeting between the head of WMP’s football unit and Dutch police.
The email notes “violent confrontations” that took place before a match between Ajax and Maccabi Aviv in Amsterdam in 2024, including alleged incidents of Muslim taxi drivers being pulled from vehicles and the singing of anti-Muslim and anti-Gaza chants.
On the day of the fixture, there was a ”national mobilisation of Muslim youths” travelling to Amsterdam “to seek retribution” – the notes state – with reported hit-and-run incidents on Maccabi fans.
The government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, had previously described a number of the claims made by West Midlands police as “inaccurate” and said the force had “conflated different things”.
The Times reported that Dutch police were “surprised” by claims attributed to them by the WMP force.
The leader of Birmingham city council, John Cotton, and other council bosses are due to be quizzed by MPs next week.
In a letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Committee in December, Birmingham city council’s executive director of city operations said there would be an independent review to “ascertain what can be improved from a governance perspective”.
West Midlands police were approached but declined to comment.
#Jewish #groups #warned #ban #Maccabi #Tel #Aviv #fans #attending #match #antisemitic #Antisemitism