Eleven people were arrested during protests outside Villa Park on Thursday after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned on safety grounds from attending the Europa League match. The ban, imposed by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group, sparked intense controversy and drew large demonstrations to the stadium.
A substantial pro-Palestine demonstration took place in the shadow of Villa Park, with protesters calling for the match to be cancelled and for Israeli teams to be excluded from multinational competitions. A smaller counter-demonstration also gathered at the away end, opposing the ban and expressing solidarity with Maccabi fans. Police directed the counter-demonstrators to a caged basketball court as they approached the stadium.
More than 700 police officers were deployed, supported by police dogs, horses, and a drone unit. A Section 60 order was in place in parts of Birmingham, granting officers the power to stop and search without reasonable grounds. West Midlands Police confirmed that five arrests were for racially aggravated offences, while others involved failures to comply with orders and breaches of the peace. Those arrested included a 21-year-old man for refusing to remove a face mask and a 17-year-old boy for breaching a dispersal order.
Speakers at the pro-Palestine rally included the local independent MP Ayoub Khan, who told demonstrators: “We will continue in our plight and in our fight to support the Palestinians who are being massacred.” Signs around the stadium read “No war games allowed. Zionists not welcome,” and protesters were heard chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Death to the IDF”. An officer was overheard discussing the presence of far-right individuals, and people were seen swearing and gesturing at pro-Palestine demonstrators.
The ban was announced in October after police classified the match as high risk, citing previous incidents including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” around the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the decision wrong, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded it a “national disgrace”. The tension led some schools to close early, and police urged people to avoid the area where possible.
Counter-demonstrators expressed shock at the ban, with one, Jill Chant, 76, saying she came to “protest against the antisemitism and the banning of Israelis from coming to Birmingham”. Maccabi fan Eran Hendler, a 57-year-old hotelier from Tel Aviv, described the ban as “very strange”, adding that decisions should be made for the majority, not an “extreme” minority.
