Hundreds of protesters at Villa-Maccabi match

Hundreds of protesters descended on Birmingham to demonstrate at the controversial Aston Villa match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Six arrests were made amid a huge police operation, with more than 700 officers deployed for the Europa League match.

A large number of pro-Palestinian supporters waved banners and flags outside Villa Park, while a smaller group of pro-Israeli campaigners marched towards the ground in the wake of the decision to ban away fans from the game.

“We police football matches a lot. We police protests a lot. We deal with all sorts of public order scenarios, but certainly the level of interest, the level of concern around this match is pretty unprecedented.”

Among those arrested were three people on suspicion of racially-aggravated public order offences.

A man, 21, was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, and a boy of 17 was held for failing to comply with a dispersal order. Another person was arrested for a breach of the peace.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the stadium, waving flags and banners calling for an end to violence in Gaza.

A counter protest of pro-Israeli campaigners marched down a road outside Villa Park. Five flatbed vehicles were also driven past the ground prior to kick-off, carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.

On Thursday, numbers of officers from the West Midlands force were boosted by police from 10 forces across the country.

Ch Supt Joyce, Birmingham’s police commander, said police had prepared for the possibility of people turning up looking for a fight.

He told Sky News that “significant levels of hooliganism” among the Maccabi fan base was the reason for the ban.

Villa supporter Adam Selway turned up for the match wearing a half-and-half scarf in the colours of the home side and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The 48-year-old said he felt sympathy with fans unable to attend and simply wanted to watch a football match, but that he was not making any political statement.

Earlier, those living and working in the city near Villa Park saw shops and schools close early.

Meanwhile, Jewish Villa fan Elliot Ludvig described his apprehension about attending the match.

Mr Ludvig, who was going to the game with his son, told the BBC: “I’m apprehensive about what’s going to happen. I’m apprehensive about the potential for violence for one thing.

He said his other major emotion was “disappointment”.

“Is it worth going to a football game to potentially put myself at some sort of risk and or expose my son to to all sorts of unpleasantries which you might not want to?,” he asked.

On Wednesday night, the chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv Jack Angelides said it was “incredibly sad” his side’s fans could not be there, adding: “Politics should never be drawn into football.”

As plans for protests were drawn up earlier in the week, Naeem Malik, chair of West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said there had been national outrage over the hosting of the Israeli team.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Kashmir solidarity campaign and Palestinian Forum in Britain had called for the match to be cancelled and jointly organised one of the protests.

Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Ayoub Khan, was among the most vocal opponents of the game taking place and attended a demonstration outside Villa Park, leading a chant of Free, Free Palestine.

“We have a very diverse community here, we have children here, families that have come out to support the plight of the Palestinians,” he said.

“We have shown that we are a welcoming community, that we want to support footballers but we don’t support hooligans, and we don’t support genocide.”

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza with reasonable grounds to conclude four out of five genocidal acts had been carried out.