The UK government’s leadership was holding urgent discussions on Friday to overturn a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a game at Aston Villa, which Israel’s government characterized as “shameful.”
Villa of Birmingham claimed the club had been informed that no away fans would be permitted at the Europa League game on November 6 due to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which is responsible for issuing game certificates.
“Awful choice!” Gideon Saar, the foreign minister of Israel, posted on X in support of this dishonest decision.
As Starmer and the European governing body UEFA’s criticism of the ban mounted, a UK police commissioner requested local officials review the decision.
Starmer, a devoted football fan, described the choice as “wrong.”
“We won’t tolerate antisemitism on our streets,” he declared. Without resorting to intimidation or violence, the police have the responsibility to make sure all football fans can enjoy the game, according to Starmer in X.
Conversations are “happening at a pace across government and with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this,” according to a prime minister’s spokesman on Friday.
Lisa Nandy, the British culture secretary, had scheduled meetings with representatives from the interior ministry and other interested parties.
The clubs and authorities were asked to “agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow” Maccabi fans to attend, according to UEFA, the organization that runs the Europa League.
The West Midlands area’s police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, requested that SAG and the police “conduct an immediate review” to determine whether the ban is “appropriate” and “necessary.”
However, a number of independent, left-wing politicians in the UK supported the ban, with some calling for the boycott of international competitions by Israeli teams due to the conflict in Gaza, similar to the apartheid sport in South Africa.
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concerns about public safety
West Midlands Police informed the SAG that they had “public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night,” according to Villa in a statement on Thursday.
Following a “thorough assessment,” police claimed to have determined the fixture to be “high risk.”
A spokesperson for the West Midlands force said the decision was based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crimes that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League game between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.”
Two days of violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans took place in the match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November.
Hit-and-run assaults targeted Israeli team supporters in Amsterdam.
The skirmishes that Maccabi fans chanted anti-Arab songs, vandalized a taxi, and pulled down a Palestinian flag were the climax of.
Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held captive for more than a year after being abducted on October 7, 2023, claimed the ban would prevent her from seeing Maccabi, the team she supports.
Despite people’s religion, race, or religion, football is a way to unite people, and this dreadful decision does the opposite, she said in a statement.
Tamir Nahson, a wine importer in Israel and a Maccabi fan, described the situation as “missing opportunity.”
“It’s very painful that [the nation] has turned into the UK for anti-Semitism. It’s very painful, unpleasant for us, and disappointing for Aston Villa fans as well.
The team had traveled to other nations, according to Maccabi Tel Aviv CEO Jack Angelides, who claimed the sentiment was “not so kind toward Israeli teams” but that there had been no incidents.
According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, the war has claimed the lives of at least 67 out of 967 people in Gaza. The figures are reliable, according to the UN.
1, 221 people died as a result of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 based on official Israeli figures, according to an AFP tally.
Source: Channels TV
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