LONDON, 20 Oct. - (ANA) - Security concerns raised by British police have led to the banning of Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a Champions League game against Aston Villa ??????, resulting in attacks from Keir Starmer and other British politicians who have described the move as "antisemitic".

 

After a thorough assessment, West Midlands police deemed the attendance of fans as "high risk", following violence involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam last year.

 

Aston Villa have said that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would not be allowed to attend next month's Europa League clash in Birmingham.

 

"Aston Villa can confirm the club has been informed that no away fans may attend the UEFA Europa League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv," the Premier League club said in a statement.

 

The match is due to take place on 6 November.

 

"This decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam," a spokesperson for the West Midlands police force said.

 

At the clashes in Amsterdam last November, Israeli fans chanted racist slogans against Arabs, attacked pro-Palestine protesters, and vandalised property, sparking retaliation from local people.

 

Israeli authorities accused the Amsterdam locals, many of them of Arab background, of "antisemitism" despite Dutch authorities saying the attackers distinguished between visiting Israeli fans and local Jewish people.

 

UK politicians have weighed in on Aston Villa's decision to ban Israeli fans, saying that it is "antisemitic" despite the police's insistence that it is due to security concerns.

 

"This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on X. "The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation."

 

Similarly, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, criticised the decision to bar the Israeli fans.

 

"A serious mistake by WM Police. You don’t tackle antisemitism by banning its victims. This decision must be reversed," he said.

 

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party who has strongly supported Israel in its genocide on Gaza, accused Starmer of being too soft on the West Midlands club's decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

 

"This is a national disgrace. How have things come to this? Starmer pledged that Jews are welcome and safe in Britain. That he stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community and will use the full force of his government to prove it," the Conservative Party leader said on X.

 

"Will he back those words with action and guarantee that Jewish fans can walk into any football stadium in this country? If not, it sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go."

 

Rights campaigners have criticised politicians for framing the ban as antisemitic, saying it has nothing to do with religion but with the violent record of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, who are known for hooliganism and far-right behaviour.

 

"We've reached the point of fascism appeasement in the UK now that the government is tying itself in knots trying to ensure far right genocide supporting football thugs can come and stir up trouble in Birmingham," Rohan Talbot, Director of Advocacy & Campaign at Medical Aid for Palestinians, tweeted. "As stupid as it is dangerous."

 

"Make no mistake: in attempting to unleash thousands of foaming-at-the-mouth ethnonationalist Macabbi Tel Aviv fans on an area of Birmingham with a large Muslim population, the government is actively attempting to start a race riot. People are going to be killed," said Rivkah Brown, commissioning editor at Novara Media said on X.

 

There have been calls for Israel's national team and Israeli clubs to be banned from international football due to the Gaza genocide, which killed over 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children,.

 

Abu Bakr Abed, a football journalist from Gaza now based in Ireland, says Israeli football clubs should not have been allowed to compete in the Europa Cup or Champions League due to the genocide and football hooliganism.

 

"Israel and its clubs must be banned from football in the first place; the fact that we are discussing banning their fans from watching games is absolutely scandalous," Abed told The New Arab.

 

"Israel has totally obliterated the football scene in Gaza, we haven't seen any indignation by those politicians at all... the selective humanity and outrage by these so-called human rights upholders exposes them more and tells us their reality."

 

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said in a press release that the British politicians' criticism of the ban shows that there was an expectation from Birmingham residents "to tolerate racist incitement and expect police to provide cover for it", adding that Starmer had shown "no regard for Palestinian safety, whether in Palestine or here in Britain. This is blatant anti-Palestinian racism".

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans have a long and sordid history of genocidal chanting and racist violence. UEFA fined the club in 2013 after fans displayed a banner saying "FEEL THE TERROR OF TEL AVIV" during a match.

 

The fans have also been involved in other violent altercations abroad, such as clashes with Greek locals and arrests in Cyprus for possession of flares and smoke bombs.

 

According to a report by Israel's Ynet, racist chants by Maccabi fans has surged by 71 percent in the Israeli football league in 2025, leading to halted matches due to violence and flare-throwing incidents.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/20 October 2025 - - -