UK govt in talks to lift ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans

LONDON: The UK government is holding urgent talks to reverse a ban preventing Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their Europa League match against Aston Villa next month — a move that Israel’s government has condemned as “shameful.”

Birmingham-based Aston Villa said the decision came from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which issues safety certificates for matches, stating that no away fans would be allowed for the November 6 fixture.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the decision “cowardly,” urging UK authorities to overturn it.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer also criticised the ban, calling it “wrong” and reaffirming that antisemitism would not be tolerated. “The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game without fear of violence or intimidation,” Starmer wrote on X.

Downing Street said discussions were underway “at pace” across government departments to resolve the issue. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was meeting with Home Office officials and other stakeholders to review the decision.

UEFA, which oversees the Europa League, also called on both clubs and local authorities to agree on “appropriate measures” to allow Maccabi supporters to attend the match.

Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, urged the SAG and police to conduct an immediate review to assess whether the ban was justified.

The West Midlands Police said the match had been categorised as “high risk” due to “public safety concerns” based on previous incidents, including violent clashes during last year’s Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.

That match saw two days of unrest between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans, with reports of assaults and vandalism.

Some left-wing and Green Party politicians in the UK supported the ban, calling for Israeli teams to be excluded from international competitions over the war in Gaza.

Maccabi fans have expressed disappointment over the move. British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was held hostage during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, said the decision was “disgusting,” adding that “football is a way of bringing people together, irrespective of faith or background.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv CEO Jack Angelides told BBC Radio that the club had played in countries where sentiment toward Israeli teams was hostile but police had ensured security without incidents.

The ongoing Gaza war has killed at least 67,967 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, figures deemed credible by the United Nations. Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel left 1,221 people dead, mostly civilians, based on official Israeli figures.

Earlier this month, two Jewish men were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester that police have linked to Islamist extremism.