No. 10 pledges action over Maccabi fan ban at Villa

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.”