Birmingham police are facing calls for an independent investigation after a document obtained by the Jewish Chronicle raised suspicions that allegations of violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were significantly exaggerated to justify banning them from attending the match against Aston Villa.
According to the report, police claimed that roughly 600 Maccabi fans committed “hate crimes” in Amsterdam last year following the Europa League match against Ajax. Yet on the night of that game, Maccabi supporters were actually the victims of planned and coordinated assaults, documented in official Amsterdam Police files. The Dutch report stated that “Maccabi Tel Aviv fans do not have a reputation for violence,” noting that of 59 suspects detained, only 10 were Israelis while the rest were Dutch nationals.
Birmingham Police said their decision was reached together with the city’s Safety Advisory Group due to concerns about “violent behavior” from Maccabi supporters. However, Dutch police documents contradict this narrative and portray the opposite: Dutch groups seeking confrontation initiated the violence, while Maccabi fans were largely the victims. Five Israelis required hospital treatment.
The revelations drew anger from British politicians across the political spectrum, who demanded full transparency from police regarding the decision to prevent the fans’ entry to Villa Park. Labour peer Lord McNicol told the Jewish Chronicle: “These conflicting reports require swift clarification. The handling of the Aston Villa–Maccabi Tel Aviv match was a shameful saga from start to finish.”
Other MPs, including Nick Timothy and Andrew Mitchell, also called for the release of all information the police used to justify the decision.
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Police detain a pro-Palestinian protester ahead of the match at Villa Park
(Photo: Reuters/Hannah Mckay)
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at the start of the month had already sparked a public outcry and sharp criticism, including from the British prime minister, who said the move amounted to capitulating to antisemitism.
At the time, The Guardian reported that the decision came after British police intelligence warned that the greatest risk of violence came from “extremist fans” of the Israeli team. The match was classified as “high risk,” but the intelligence that led to this assessment was never publicly disclosed.
Hours before kickoff, a British police spokesperson told Sky News the ban was due to “high levels of hooliganism among some of the fans.”