Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to bar their supporters.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
The local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) opted last week to block visiting fans from attending the tie against Aston Villa on November 6 following a risk assessment by West Midlands Police, a decision that drew immediate criticism from politicians including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
There had been numerous calls for the decision to be reversed, but a statement on the Maccabi website on Monday evening read: ‘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.’
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The statement questioned the motives of those seeking to justify the ban.
‘We acknowledge the efforts of the UK government and police to ensure both sets of fans can attend the match safely, and are grateful for the messages of support from across the footballing community and society at large,’ said the club.
‘Our first-team squad consists of Muslims, Christian and Jewish players and our fan base also crosses the ethnic and religious divide. We have also been working tirelessly to stamp out racism within the more extreme elements of our fan base.
‘It is clear that various entrenched groups seek to malign the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan base, most of whom have no truck with racism or hooliganism of any kind, and are exploiting isolated incidents for their own social and political ends.
‘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.’
Responding to Maccabi’s announcement, a UK Government spokesperson said: ‘The Government has been working around the clock to defend a basic principle, that football fans should be able to enjoy a game without fear of intimidation or violence.
![epa11709346 Police officers make a security cordon around a bus after the soccer match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, early 08 November 2024. The Israeli army confirmed on 08 November it was preparing to "deploy a rescue mission with the coordination of the Dutch government [...] following severe and violent incidents against Israelis in Amsterdam", after clashes broke out after a match between Ajax and Israeli soccer club Maccabi Tel Aviv. EPA/VLN Nieuws](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SEI_228810850-c0d3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘We are deeply saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv have turned down their away fan allocation but we respect their right to do so.
‘It is completely unacceptable that this game has been weaponised to stoke violence and fear by those who seek to divide us.
‘We will never tolerate antisemitism or extremism on our streets.’
Earlier on Monday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the decision to bar supporters ‘chooses exclusion’ of Jewish people.
In response to an urgent question in the House of Commons from former Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston on Monday, Nandy said the final call must ultimately be made by the police.
However, she said the country ‘should be appalled’ that the initial risk assessment was, she claimed, ‘based in no small part on the risk posed to those fans that are attending who support Maccabi because they are Israeli, and because they are Jewish’.
She added: ‘The solution that is proposed, to exclude a group from attending, is wrong. It chooses exclusion rather than looking at the full options available to manage that risk. This is about who we are as a country.’
West Midlands Police last week classified the fixture as ‘high risk’. They said the decision was ‘based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam’.
Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said there had been ‘a deliberate, disingenuous move by many to make this a matter of banning Jews, to conflate matters of policing with those of religion’.
He added: ‘Those who are not welcome in Aston are hooligans that have a long history of violence and vile racism.’
Nandy replied: ‘In relation to the specific incidents and chants that he mentions, I am appalled by those, and none of us in this house should seek to condone that in any sense.
‘But can I say to him as well that it is entirely disingenuous to say that you respect cohesion and inclusion when you’re seeking to divide and exclude.’
Nandy agreed there were ‘a minority’ of Maccabi fans ‘whose behaviour is reprehensible’ but added: ‘That is not the case for all fans. What is astonishing in this case is that it is unprecedented in modern times that all away fans have been banned because of the behaviour of a small minority.’
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