October 21 – The UK government has expressed disappointment over Maccabi Tel Aviv’s decision not to take up any tickets offered for their away game in the Europa League against Aston Villa saying “it is completely unacceptable that this game has been weaponized to stoke violence and fear”.
Citing safety concerns, Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv announced Tuesday that they would not take up away tickets for the Europa League match against Aston Villa in November.
In a statement, the club acknowledged “the efforts of the UK government and police”, but announced that the allocation of away tickets will be declined: “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.”
The decision follows Birmingham police’s request to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League match against Aston Villa next month. Local authorities categorised the match as high risk. West Midlands Police 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”.
Keir Starmer and his UK government, however, moved to ensure Maccabi fans could attend the match. That was met by a stern rebuke from the UK Football Policing Unit, which said that “if the government want a role in regulating football events that could be termed ‘events of national significance’, then they need to bring forward legislation to formalise this to ensure accountability sits with decision-makers.”
Last year, Ajax Amsterdam’s European tie against Maccabi was overshadowed by heavy violence, anti-semitic attacks and anti-Arab chants in the Dutch capital. Away bans in European club competitions are not unusual, but Maccabi fans, who carry a notorious reputation, have recently come into the spotlight.
On Sunday, Israeli police called off the Tel Aviv derby minutes before kickoff because of security concerns and clashes between Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv fans, and police .
Maccabi Tel Aviv said football should unite, not divide. “We have been instrumental in bringing forward footballing talent from around the world irrespective of race or creed. Our first team squad consists of Muslims, Christian and Jewish players and our fan base also crosses the ethnic and religious divide,” the statement said, adding that the club had been “working tirelessly to stamp out racism within the more extreme elements of our fan base.”
The statement said there were critics who sought to “malign” Maccabi fans.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
The UK government said: “It is completely unacceptable that this game has been weaponized to stoke violence and fear by those who seek to divide us. We will never tolerate antisemitism or extremism on our streets.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1761097048labto1761097048ofdlr1761097048owedi1761097048sni@i1761097048tnuk.1761097048ardni1761097048mas1761097048
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