Ed Miliband has said Aston Villa’s football ground cannot be a “no-go area” for Jews as he reiterated calls for a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to be lifted. The energy secretary made the comments on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, insisting that no area should be off-limits to people because of their religion or nationality.
The ban, imposed by West Midlands police, bars away fans from the Europa League fixture at Villa Park on 6 November. The force cited “violent clashes and hate crime offences” at a Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam in 2024 as a reason for the decision, saying they could not police the match safely.
Miliband said he “profoundly disagreed” with calls for a boycott of Israeli teams in the UK, adding 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. However, he noted that “integration is not something you can ever take for granted”.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Aston Villa told club stewards they would not have to work during the fixture, with staff informed in an email that they could submit a one-off absence request without affecting their contractual minimum attendance of 80%.
West Midlands police classified the match as “high risk” based on intelligence. The Home Office has offered extra support to the force, urging them to reverse the ban. Birmingham’s safety advisory group is due to meet next week to discuss the resources needed for the match to go ahead safely with away fans.
