Downing Street has pledged action to resolve the ban on fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv attending next month’s Europa League game at Aston Villa, as it emerged the government was warned of the proposals last week.

Discussions are happening “at pace, across government” to overturn the ban on visiting supporters attending the match at Villa Park on Nov. 6, No. 10 has said.

Authorities in Birmingham are facing mounting pressure to overturn the ban, with the government stepping in on Thursday evening.

However, ministers face fresh questions after the UK Football Policing Unit said the Home Office was briefed “last week” that “restrictions on visiting fans” could be among the measures taken to police the fixture.

Senior officers at the unit backed the ban, saying it was “important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions”.

It is understood the Home Office was briefed that a ban was being considered, but no decision had been taken and the Home Secretary was not informed of the final decision until it was made public on Thursday night.

Conversations aimed at overturning the ban include Home Office offers of support to police in Birmingham, and a phone call between Communities Secretary Steve Reed and Birmingham City Council.

Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is “meeting officials to discuss what more can be done to try to find a way through to resolve this, and what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely”, a No. 10 spokesman said.

He added: “You can expect to hear further updates today. I won’t pre-empt the conversations, but these are happening at pace, across government, with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this.”

The Prime Minister has been “angered by the decision,” the spokesman also said, adding: “While of course this is an operational decision, we are perfectly entitled to speak out on fundamental principles of fairness like this.”

He said: “The Prime Minister will do everything in his power to give Jewish communities the security they deserve and, as he has made clear, we think this is the wrong decision.”

The Aston Villa vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv match was classified high risk by West Midlands Police based on “current intelligence and previous incidents.”

The force pointed to violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam.

Birmingham’s safety advisory group (SAG), which brings together the council and police force, has faced widespread criticism from across the political spectrum for its decision to implement the ban.

The West Midlands’ police and crime commissioner Simon Foster called for Birmingham council officials and West Midlands Police to review the decision.

The review would “determine whether or not this decision and recommendation is appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim,” he said.

Labour mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker suggested the government could finance the policing costs should the ban be overturned.

He wrote on social media: “Whilst I respect West Midlands Police, if the government are willing to support in terms of resource then there should be a review of the decision that has been made.”

UEFA, which runs the Europa League, urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi fans could attend the fixture.

Maccabi chief executive Jack Angelides said he did not want to take security issues lightly but told the BBC the team has travelled to places such as Turkey, where he said the sentiment is “not so kind towards Israeli teams,” but the police “were out in force” and there were no incidents.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister to “get involved” if the police did not reverse its decision to ban Maccabi supporters.

She said the Prime Minister “needs to show he has got a backbone and isn’t so weak that he will just allow Jewish people to be terrorised here.”

The chair of the Culture Media and Sport select committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has written to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police asking for an explanation of the decision.

“The move to prevent away fans from attending next month’s match at Villa Park is extremely concerning and is at odds with the principle that football in this country is for everyone,” Dinenage said.

“The police need to be open about how and why they reached the decision that a ban was the only way of guaranteeing public safety, and whether there is a route to reversing what is a deeply regrettable situation.”

AC Milan and United States star Christian Pulisic is headed back to Italy after international duty with a hamstring injury, and although the U.S. winger still has to be fully evaluated by his club, reports say he could be sidelined for nearly a month.

That would mean Pulisic would not only miss Sunday’s match against Fiorentina but also Serie A matches against Pisa, Atalanta, Roma and Parma as the friendly matches played by the U.S. could cost Milan dearly.

Despite the reports, a source told ESPN that Pulisic’s return flight to Milan had been delayed and that he was still in the United States, adding that no scans had been done yet to determine the extent of his injury.

Pulisic has been Milan’s best player by far this season, with six goals and two assists in seven matches before a rare missed penalty in a goalless draw against Juventus before the international break.

Pulisic, 27, was slowed by a right ankle injury last week and only entered Friday’s 1-1 draw against Ecuador in the 73rd minute. Despite that — and the matches only being friendlies — he started Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Australia but was forced off after 26 minutes with an apparent hamstring injury.

After the match, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino suggested the change in climate and altitude between the team’s first game in Austin and the game against Australia in Denver as a possible contributing factor to Pulisic’s injury.

“I think it’s a thing that is a massive risk. I don’t want to say that Christian or if it’s something because, but I think it was really tough for the player,” Pochettino said. “We know to prepare the game and then to play. We got really sad about this [Pulisic] situation because I think it is difficult.

“I think the [temperature] difference [between Austin and Colorado] and that can affect your body and everything. That is difficult. But yes, that is a thing that we need to fix for the future when we come from Europe because [the altitude] can affect [things].”

The Rossoneri will hope to have him back at least for the derby match against Inter Milan on Nov. 23 — after the next international break.

Milan is third in Serie A, two points below AS Roma and defending champion Napoli.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story. ESPN writer Jeff Carlisle was also a contributor.

Cristiano Ronaldo has again been named the highest-paid player in the world, while Barcelona‘s phenom Lamine Yamal is on the list of the top 10, according to Forbes.

The American business magazine released its annual report of the world’s 10 highest earners.

The Forbes ranking reflects on-field earnings estimates for the 2025-26 season, including base salaries, bonuses and, club-based image rights agreements.

Ronaldo, 40, who on June signed a new two-year deal with Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, is projected to claim $280 million in total earnings over the coming year before taxes and agents’ fees.

The Portugal captain, who recently declared he has no plans to retire as he is “still producing good things,” will earn $230m from Al Nassr during the 2025-26 season plus $50m in off-field earnings.

Ronaldo, who has over 1 billion total followers across his various social media accounts, leads the Forbes list for the sixth time in the last decade.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi is the only MLS representative on the list and is a distant second to Ronaldo.

The Argentina captain’s projected total income for 2025 is $130 million, with a whopping $70m coming from off-field earnings. Messi, 38, has endorsement deals with Adidas, Lay’s and Mastercard, among others.

Yamal, who inherited Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt once worn by Messi, is the first 18-year-old to enter Forbes’ soccer list in its 22-year history.

The Spain international put pen to paper on a 10-year contract with Barcelona in May. He completes the ranking with expected earnings of $43m.

Karim Benzema has climbed to third place, with the Al-Ittihad captain estimated to make around $100m on the pitch and around $4m off it.

Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland is one of two Premier League players included. The Norwegian star’s estimated $80m earnings, some of which comes from his lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, place him at No. 5 while Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah, who signed a two-year deal to remain at Anfield this summer, is seventh at $55m.

– Ronaldo nets 2 to set WCQ goal-scoring record
– Cristiano Ronaldo football’s first billionaire player – report
– Ronaldo: Family ask me to stop, but I want 1,000 goals

LaLiga have four players in the top 10, with Real Madrid‘s Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham fourth ($95m), sixth ($60m) and ninth ($44m), respectively.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mané is No. 8, expected to get $54m.

In total, the 10 highest paid players are set to collect record earnings worth $945 million this season, down nearly 4% from last year’s $983m.

Brazilian forward Neymar was No. 3 on last year’s list but has fallen out of the ranking since leaving Al Hilal earlier this year to rejoin boyhood club Santos.

Forbes’ top 10 high-paid players 2025:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – $280m (On-field: $230m, off-field: $50m)
2. Lionel Messi – $130m (On-field: $60m, off-field: $70m)
3. Karim Benzema – $104m (On-field: $100m, off-field: $4m)
4. Kylian Mbappé – $95m (On-field: $70m, off-field: $25m)
5. Erling Haaland – $80m (On-field: $60m, off-field: $20m)
6. Vinícius Júnior – $60m (On-field: $40m, off-field: $20m)
7. Mohamed Salah – $55m (On-field: $35m, off-field: $20m)
8. Sadio Mané – $54m (On-field: $50m, off-field: $4m)
9. Jude Bellingham – $44m (On-field: $29m, off-field: $15m)
10. Lamine Yamal – $43m (On-field: $33m, off-field: $10m)