Police have revealed to Sky News they banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa due to “significant levels of hooliganism” in the fan base jeopardising safety around the match – rather than threats to visiting Israelis.
This is the first time a West Midlands Police chief has publicly explained the intelligence behind the decision that was angrily opposed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The revelation to us comes after MPs on the Home Affairs Committee this week asked for police to explain the decision.
Excluding Israeli fans was portrayed by the government as antisemitic by turning part of Birmingham into a no-go zone for Thursday night’s Europa League match.
“We are simply trying to make decisions based on community safety, driven by the intelligence that was available to us and our assessment of the risk that was coming from admitting travelling fans,” Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce told Sky News.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
“I’m aware there’s a lot of commentary around the threat to the [Maccabi] fans being the reason for the decision. To be clear, that was not the primary driver. That was a consideration.
“We have intelligence and information that says that there is a section of Maccabi fans, not all Maccabi fans, but a section who engage in quite significant levels of hooliganism.
‘Explain Epstein links’: Congressional letter summons Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to US
Congress letter to Andrew: Read in full
One of two prisoners mistakenly released hands himself in
“What is probably quite unique in these circumstances is where as often hooligans will clash with other hooligans and it will be contained within the football fan base.
“We’ve had examples where a section of Maccabi fans were targeting people not involved in football matches, and certainly we had an incident in Amsterdam last year which has informed some of our decision-making.
“So it is exclusively a decision we made on the basis of the behaviour of a sub-section of Maccabi fans, but all the reaction that could occur obviously formed part of that as well.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Maccabi’s match at Ajax last year saw attacks on Israeli fans condemned as antisemitic, leading to five people being convicted.
But there was also violence from supporters of the Israeli league champions, with anti-Arab chants.
Maccabi chief executive Jack Angelides on Wednesday said in a Sky News interview there were “blatant falsehoods” spread about the Amsterdam incident and complained about a lack of clarity over the ban from West Midlands Police.
“We are absolutely not saying that in Amsterdam that the only fans causing trouble were the Maccabi fans,” said Chief Superintendent Joyce.
“But what we were very clearly told is that they played a part in causing trouble particularly a day before the match.
“That absolutely resulted in following day there being attacks on Maccabi fans.
“So it wasn’t all one way, but… escalating violence as a consequence is what we were trying to prevent here in Birmingham.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
More than 700 police officers were being deployed for the match from around 10 forces across the country, with pro-Palestinian protests demanding a ban on Israeli teams from European football over the war in Gaza.
Ahead of the game, anti-Israeli signs appeared on lampposts, including ones saying “Zionists not welcome” – a reference to those backing the existence of the Jewish state of Israel.
Asked about the phrase, Chief Superintendent Joyce said: “Our understanding is that they don’t quite contravene hate crime, but they’re acceptable as a matter of judgement.
“We’ve taken legal advice on whether it crosses the threshold to be a hate crime and our understanding is that it does not. And as with many of these things, there is often a question of degree at which something becomes lawful to unlawful and it’s a fine judgement.”
