Starmer says ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending Aston Villa game is ‘wrong decision’

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned a decision to ban supporters of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv from their team’s match against Aston Villa as “the wrong decision”.

The prime minister joined calls for Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group and West Midlands Police to reverse the decision and allow Maccabi fans to attend the game.

The move to prohibit Maccabi away supporters from attending the Europa League game at Villa Park on 6 November was made amid public safety fears.

Violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans erupted around the Europa League match between Dutch club Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam last year .

Five men were given prison sentences and more than 60 people were detained in the riots, which prompted accusations of deliberate antisemitic attacks.

But Sir Keir slammed the decision, describing it in a post on X, formerly Twitter, as “the wrong decision”.

He said: “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.

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Keir Starmer said Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group had made ‘the wrong decision’ (PA Wire)

“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group – the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for every match at Villa Park – informed Villa that no away fans will be permitted to attend next month’s fixture.

The move was condemned by Jewish political leaders. Uefa, which runs the Europa League, also urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could attend the match in Birmingham.

In a statement, it said: “Uefa wants fans to be able to travel and support their team in a safe, secure and welcoming environment, and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow this to happen.

A minister said senior government figures are meeting on Friday to find “a way through” that would allow Maccabi fans to attend the fixture.

Ian Murray, a minister in the culture department, said the decision was “completely and utterly unacceptable” and said culture secretary Lisa Nandy will be “meeting with the Home Office and other stakeholders today to try and see if there’s a way through this”.

Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villans supporters’ club, said the decision is “a political message rather than a safety message”.

The retired British Army major told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s no evidence of Maccabi’s fans being particularly violent. They don’t have a track record in all of their previous European games of having a violent fan group.”

He said it sends a “really worrying message” about British society and makes “a febrile political situation worse”.

He said there are plenty of “well-established ways” to keep opposing supporters apart, and that bans were usually reserved for cases where there is “guaranteed violence” from the visiting fans.

The decision was also branded a “national disgrace” by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and a “shameful decision” by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar.

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Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attended their Europa League fixture against PAOK in Greece in September (Reuters)

On X, Ms Badenoch wrote: “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.

“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.”

The Jewish Leadership Council criticised the decision not to permit Maccabi supporters to attend the Villa game, saying: “It is perverse that away fans should be banned from a football match because West Midlands Police can’t guarantee their safety.

“ Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “A serious mistake by WM Police. You don’t tackle antisemitism by banning its victims. This decision must be reversed.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the move “takes racial discrimination to a whole new level”, while an MP in his party, Danny Kruger, said home secretary Shabana Mahmood should consider sacking the chief constable responsible.

Baroness Luciana Berger , a former Labour MP who quit the party in 2019 amid its antisemitism scandal before rejoining in 2023, said: “This is a shameful decision.

“If West Midlands Police & Birmingham council can’t guarantee safety for this 1 match then the city’s ability to host forthcoming major international events should be reviewed.”

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The game is due to be played at Villa Park in November (PA Wire)

West Midlands Police said they had classified the Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture as high risk 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”.

Ayoub Khan, the pro-Gaza Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, welcomed the decision.

He said: “From the moment that the match was announced, it was clear that there were latent safety risks that even our capable security and police authorities would not be able to fully manage.

“With so much hostility and uncertainty around the match, it was only right to take drastic measures.”

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign had called for the match to be cancelled, saying on X: “Israeli football teams shouldn’t play in international tournaments whilst it commits genocide and apartheid.”