Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters will be blocked from buying tickets for next month’s Europa Conference League clash with Aston Villa, the club has confirmed.
In a lengthy statement, the Israeli club said it could no longer guarantee the safety of its supporters, citing the ‘intervention of divisive figures’, ‘hate-filled falsehoods’ and ‘inflammatory rhetoric’ surrounding the game.
The fixture, set for November 6 at Villa Park, has already been mired in controversy after Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group – backed by West Midlands Police – made the decision to bar all away supporters, citing ‘intelligence and previous incidents’.
Police pointed to violent clashes and hate crime offences during last year’s Europa League tie between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam – scenes that saw five people hospitalised and 62 arrested.
But the move triggered outrage across the political spectrum including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who blasted the ruling as the ‘wrong decision’, insisting: ‘We will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets.’
Just hours before Maccabi’s announcement, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy vowed the Government would ‘find the resources’ to allow ‘all fans’ to attend, raising hopes the ban could be overturned.
However, the club said it had been left with no choice but to pull out of the away allocation, warning of a ‘toxic atmosphere’ fuelled by falsehoods and dangerous rhetoric.
In their statement tonight, Maccabi claimed ‘various entrenched group’ had sought to exploit isolated incidents ‘for their own social and political ends’ and reiterated that most of its fans ‘have no truck with racism or hooliganism of any kind’.
The Prime Minister took to social media to condemn the decision on Thursday night
Fans of Israeli club Maccabi have been banned from watching their team at Aston Villa next month
‘Our fans regularly travel all over Europe without incident and to suggest that the reason our fans cannot be allowed to travel is due to their behavior is an attempt to distort reality and to excuse the real underlying reasons for the decision to ban our fans. Our fans, the Jewish community know all too well this tactic and all are too familiar with where it can lead,’ the statement read.
‘We are also concerned about the intervention of divisive figures who do not represent the values of our Club. We condemn all abhorrent views that have no place in football.
‘As a result of the hate-filled falsehoods, a toxic atmosphere has been created which makes the safety of our fans wishing to attend very much in doubt. Inflammatory rhetoric, trafficking in half-truths is never healthy, but in this particular case the remarks being generated are of the most concerning variety.
‘Not for Maccabi Tel Aviv or football, but for the sake of society and its underlying values, maybe the agendas involved here should be looked at more closely.
‘The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount and from hard lessons learned, we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context.
‘We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.’
Police remain on high alert, fearing a repeat of last year’s violent clashes in Amsterdam, when Israeli supporters were targeted with ‘outbursts of violence’ and ‘antisemitic attacks’.
