Aston Villa stewards told they could miss Maccabi Tel Aviv match

Requests to miss the match must be submitted at least four working days before the fixture.

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it supported the ban, adding that it had classified the fixture as “high risk” based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate-crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.

More than 60 people were arrested over the violence, which city officials described as a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

After the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was announced on Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the move “wrong”, adding “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets”. There has also been criticism from other party leaders.

At the time, Aston Villa said they had been informed of the decision following “an instruction from the SAG”. They added that West Midlands Police had advised the SAG that it had “public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night”.

The club said they were in “continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities throughout this ongoing process, with the safety of supporters attending the match and the safety of local residents at the forefront of any decision”.

The SAG, which advises the council on whether to issue safety certificates, will review the decision if West Midlands Police changes its risk assessment for the match, Birmingham City Council has said.

The Home Office was briefed that restrictions on visiting fans might be imposed last week, but the BBC was told that officials were not informed about the final decision until Thursday.