Villa warn fans against political messaging

Aston Villa have cautioned fans against “the displaying of political symbols, messages, or flags” during the Europa League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv from next month.

The Premier League team claimed that doing so would be “strictly prohibited and will result in immediate ejection and the issuing of a stadium ban” in ticketing guidance released on Tuesday.

Despite the UK government promising to have a controversial fan ban overturned, Villa announced that they would not sell any tickets to the Israeli club due to safety concerns.

The Israeli Embassy in the UK expressed concern over the hostility and incitement that caused Maccabi to revoke their away ticket allocation.

It continued, “It is unfortunate that extremists have systematically smuggled Jewish and Israeli fans out of UK stadiums.”

The government said it would fund any necessary policing operation that would allow Maccabi’s supporters to attend, and the decision was widely denounced.

The Israeli Embassy “condemns any attempts to exclude Israeli teams or Jewish fans and expects UK authorities to ensure their safety and full participation in public life.”

Villa have now made their ticketing policy clear for the game, stating that only supporters who have purchased tickets before this season will be able to get a ticket.

In what will be a vacant away end, the club also warned against supporters selling their tickets and said they would not be selling them.

Villa previously stated to their matchday stewards last week that they were aware that some “may have concerns” and that they did not need to work at the game.

According to intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crimes that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam,” West Midlands Police said on Thursday that the game had been “high risk.”

One of the many politicians who criticized the action and demanded that it be overturned was prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

However, the Fare Network, which exposes discrimination against Uefa, told the Press Association it was “reluctant to question” the police risk assessment, while the UK Football Policing Unit said it was “important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions.”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy argued on Monday that the ban was “wrong” and had come “against the backdrop of rising antisemitism here and internationally,” and that the SAG would look into it if West Midlands Police changed its risk assessment.

However, Maccabi announced a few hours later that they would reject any ticket requests, claiming that “a toxic environment has been created that makes our fans’ safety very much in doubt.”

The club also argued that supporters were not to blame for the club’s decision to end the derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Sunday due to what the police described as “public disorder and violent riots.”

In addition, “We have been working tirelessly to eradicate racism within our fanbase’s more extreme elements,” said a Maccabi statement.

“Unfortunately, those issues are issues the sport has been dealing with all over the world, including in the UK,” the statement read.

It is obvious that various well-known organizations are using isolated incidents to advance their own social and political goals in order to demonize the Maccabi Tel Aviv fanbase.

A representative for the UK government said the match had been “devastated” and that it was “completely unacceptable” that those who want to divide us have used it as a weapon.

Ayoub Khan, an independent MP whose Birmingham Perry Barr constituency houses Villa Park, claimed Sir Keir owed an apology to West Midlands Police after saying that they should not be allowed to play football against Maccabi fans.

The Aston Villa warning is evidence that even with Maccabi refusing any tickets, things are still at a high level before one of English football’s most highly politicized games has been witnessed.

In a year when protests have frequently occurred alongside sports events involving Israeli teams, there will still be much scrutiny over how the local authorities handled the club’s visit to Villa Park.

Local safety officials in Birmingham have recently been under increasing pressure to overturn their highly contentious decision to outlaw away fans.

With the surprise decision made by Maccabi, the government no longer needs to make a U-turn later this week, preventing the possibility of an internal conflict with the government.

However, it will be difficult to determine what kind of intelligence the fans’ ban on Maccabi was and whether the controversy could have been avoided.

This development may be a welcome relief for those who were reluctant to question West Midlands Police’s initial assessment that the fixture was “high risk”.

However, the fact that Maccabi does not feel the match safe enough for their fans to watch and that it sets a worrying precedent will be deeply regrettable and embarrassing to the UK.