Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has insisted that Aston Villa's stadium cannot become a 'no-go area' for Jews, as he called for a police ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to be lifted. The former Labour leader made the comments on Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, ahead of the Europa League fixture scheduled for 6 November.
West Midlands Police barred away fans from the match last week, citing concerns over safety after violent clashes and hate crime offences at a Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam in 2024. The force classified the fixture as 'high risk' based on intelligence.
Miliband said: 'We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country, and we've got to stamp out all forms of prejudice, antisemitism, Islamophobia, wherever we find them.' He added that the 'vast majority of Muslim people in this country would disassociate themselves' from suggestions that Maccabi fans could not attend because the area is predominantly Muslim.
The Home Office has offered extra support to West Midlands Police to ensure the match can go ahead with all fans. Birmingham's safety advisory group is due to meet next week to discuss the resources needed.
It also emerged that Aston Villa told stewards they could skip duties for the fixture, with an email on 3 October stating that those with concerns could submit a one-off absence request without affecting their contractual minimum attendance of 80%.
