Aston Villa told matchday stewards they would not have to work during the club’s Europa League fixture against the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv, citing possible “concerns” over safety, it has been reported.
West Midlands police decided to ban Maccabi fans from the forthcoming match, after saying the force would not be able to police the fixture safely owing to “violent clashes and hate crime offences” at a previous match in Amsterdam in 2024.
The Home Office has offered extra support to West Midlands police in an effort to reverse its ban. A meeting with Birmingham’s safety advisory group (SAG) has been set up for next week.
The BBC reported that Villa had informed stewards they had permission to skip their duties on the day of the fixture, Thursday 6 November, before the decision to ban fans was made by police.
In an email apparently sent on 3 October, stewards were told that “regarding the upcoming fixture against Maccabi Tel Aviv … we appreciate that some of you may have concerns about attending work”, the broadcaster reported.
Those who were meant to work on the day were told they would “be able to submit a one-off absence request”, and this “will allow you to register your absence for this specific fixture”.
Aston Villa had also made clear that “this type of absence will not affect your contractual minimum attendance of 80%”.
This email was reportedly sent after a number of stewards allegedly raised concerns over safety on the day, and it is unclear how many stewards will not work on the day of the fixture. A request to not work would have to be submitted four days prior to the match’s scheduled date.
West Midlands police had said on Thursday they had classified Villa’s home fixture against Maccabi as “high risk” based on intelligence. The police force also highlighted violence that occurred during a 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam, where more than 60 people were arrested over the violence that was called a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” by authorities.
Four local people were given short jail terms for the violence against Maccabi fans. A report by Dutch police into the disorder during the 2024 Amsterdam match found Maccabi fans had torn a Palestinian flag down from a local building and burned it, shouted: “Fuck you, Palestine”, and vandalised a taxi. Maccabi fans were also taped chanting “Olé, olé. Let the IDF win, fuck the Arabs.”
The ban imposed by West Midlands police came after pressure from the local independent MP, Ayoub Khan. Khan told BBC Two’s Newsnight on Thursday: “We cannot conflate [this issue with] antisemitism when we look at what some of these fans did in Amsterdam in 2024 … We’re talking about violent fans and I think the prime minister should stay out of operational matters.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said on Friday it was notifying Birmingham city council and West Midlands police of its intention to bring a judicial review against the ban of Maccabi fans, which it said was “pernicious” and had “angered the whole country”.
Keir Starmer called the police force’s decision “wrong”, saying “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets”. Uefa, the governing body of European football, has urged local authorities in Birmingham to allow Maccabi fans to travel to the match.
In a statement on their website, Aston Villa said: “The club are 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.”
Aston Villa have been approached for comment.