Maccabi Tel Aviv has announced it would turn down any tickets for its fans even if English authorities overturn their decision to ban its supporters from the Europa League match at Aston Villa.
The Israeli club said in a statement that a “toxic atmosphere” had put the safety of fans wanting to attend “very much in doubt”.
A political storm has raged in the UK after the move was interpreted by some as Jewish fans being told their safety could not be guaranteed at a match.
The decision drew widespread criticism, including from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with calls for the ruling to be reversed.
The ban was imposed after police raised safety concerns. They cited potential protests outside Aston Villa's ground in Birmingham, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
The UK government, which had been working “working around the clock” to find a way to make sure fans from both teams could attend the fixture next month, was “deeply saddened” by the latest development, a spokesperson said.
The government had said it was “completely unacceptable” that the match had been “weaponised to stoke violence and fear by those who seek to divide us”.
It had been working with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to try to overturn the ban.
The spokesperson said it was defending a basic principle, “that football fans should be able to enjoy a game without fear of intimidation or violence”.
“We are deeply saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv have turned down their away fan allocation but we respect their right to do so,” the spokesperson said.
“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 anti-Semitism or extremism on our streets.
“We will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that this game goes ahead safely, and that Jewish communities across this country get the safety and security they deserve.”
The Israeli side said in a statement on Monday evening that it had decided not to accept any ticket allocation.
The club said: “The well-being and safety of our fans is paramount and from hard lessons learnt, 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.”
An Israeli Premier League match between Hapoel and Maccabi was called off on Sunday. Trouble flared before kick-off in and around the Bloomfield Stadium, in Tel Aviv, a venue shared by the rival teams.
Messages of support
Maccabi insisted their supporters were not involved in the unrest and their statement questioned the motivation of those leading calls for a ban on away fans at the Aston Villa match.
“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.”
The British government had been expecting West Midlands Police to set out this week what they would need to maintain safety at the match with both sets of fans attending.
Last week they classified the fixture as “high risk”, saying the ban 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”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had defended the government’s efforts to reverse the ban in the Commons.
She said the ban had an impact on a community who already feel “excluded and afraid”, but the final decision must ultimately be made by the police.
However, she also said the country “should be appalled” that the initial assessment was “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”.
Ms Nandy said it was legitimate to support police independence to carry out a risk assessment for the match but it was also legitimate to “question the conclusion that follows when it excludes the people at the heart of that risk”.
She said the government would find the resources to ensure Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans could attend.
Birmingham has been the scene of pro-Palestinian rallies since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas began. Earlier this month, two Jewish men died in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, England, that police linked to Islamist extremism.
'Disingenuous move'
Ayoub Khan, whose Birmingham Perry Barr constituency is home to the Villa Park Stadium and had led a petition for away fans to be refused tickets, has claimed there was a “deliberate disingenuous move by many to make this a matter of banning Jews”.
The independent MP accused some parliamentarians of playing “fast and loose” with safety in his community and added: “I know the reality on the ground, and I know that there has 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 later added: “Those who are not welcome in Aston are hooligans that have a long history of violence and vile racism.”
Independent MP Zarah Sultana said Maccabi’s “racist fan hooliganism cannot be separated from Israeli militarism”.
Ms Nandy replied that she was “appalled” by some chants made by a section of supporters but added: “It is entirely disingenuous to say that you respect cohesion and inclusion when you’re seeking to divide and exclude.”
Gareth Snell, the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, had earlier referred to the Swiss football club BSC Young Boys, who face Villa later in November.
On fan misbehaviour by supporters of the Bern club, he said: “The challenge will be, if this ban is allowed to go ahead, the game after the Maccabi game is with the Swiss-based Young Boys. Their fans have been involved in two riots including hospitalisations.
“If their away team is not banned, the question should be: ‘What is different between the Maccabi fans and the Young Boys fans, and what is it that we want to talk about?'”
