By Max Colchester and Natasha Dangoor

LONDON -- Fans of Israeli soccer club Maccabi Tel Aviv have been told they are not welcome to travel to Birmingham, England for a Europa League match with Aston Villa next month because of safety concerns, a decision that sparked a government outcry and accusations of antisemitism.

Birmingham's city council made the decision on advice from local police, who said they were concerned about threats that had been made ahead of the Nov. 6 match, raising fears of antisemitic violence at the event. According to a 2021 census, around 30 % of Birmingham's population is Muslim, and the city held some of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the Gaza war.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the decision to block the fans from attending, and his government said it was working with local police to overturn the ban. "The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation," he said.

West Midlands Police said the "decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents," which included violent clashes that occurred during a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam last year, which resulted in around 60 arrests.

After that match, Dutch authorities said mobs unleashed a wave of violence, chasing Israelis through the streets on motorbikes and beating them. The attacks came after videos circulated online of some Maccabi fans pulling down a Palestinian flag and chanting about Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Police said 25 to 35 people were injured during the clashes.

The Jewish Leadership Council, which works to protect British Jews, said in a statement that it was "perverse" that fans visiting the U.K. were banned because the police couldn't guarantee their safety.

British lawmaker Ayoub Khan, who won his parliamentary seat for Birmingham during last year's election on a pro-Gaza platform, launched a petition to ban the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from coming to the Aston Villa game. He pointed to alleged chants of "vile hatred and racism" by the Israeli team's fans before their game in Amsterdam. "There is no space for that kind of behaviour here in Birmingham," he said on X.

Leaders of nearly all the major political parties in the U.K. said the move to ban the Israeli supporters was wrong and called for it to be overturned. The only exception was the Green Party which called for a boycott of all Israeli teams because of the war in Gaza and a cluster of independent lawmakers who were elected last year on pro-Gaza tickets.

One of those, Iqbal Mohammed, posted on X that the safety of locals should be put above the "Zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot in our country."

Following the political outcry, the West Midland's police and crime commissioner, who is responsible for overseeing the police force, asked both the police and Birmingham council to review the decision. The decision comes just weeks after an antisemitic terror attack saw two people killed at a synagogue in Manchester northern England.

Jack Angelides, the CEO of Maccabi Tel Aviv, told the BBC that up to 1,000 Tel Aviv fans had planned to travel to the match. He said the decision was met with dismay, adding: "I do think this is an extremely important moment because of what it signifies. I don't use this term lightly but people ask: 'What does antisemitism look like?'"

Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen who was held hostage for 15 months by Hamas in Gaza, said she was a die-hard Tel Aviv fan and was shocked by the decision. "I do wonder what exactly has become of British society, this is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying "No Jews allowed," she wrote on X.

Some European football clubs, particularly in France and Italy, are increasingly banning fans from other clubs from attending matches for fear of football-related violence. Visiting fans from Eintracht Frankfurt and Ajax Amsterdam have been barred from going to upcoming Champions League matches by local authorities in Napoli and Marseilles.

Write to Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com and Natasha Dangoor at natasha.dangoor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2025 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT)

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