Maccabi Tel Aviv declines tickets to UK game after Tommy Robinson vows to defend fans
Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv has decided not to sell any tickets to its fans for the 6 November fixture against Aston Villa in the English city of Birmingham.
The latest development in an absurd saga came after British government ministers repeatedly insisted a West Midlands Police decision to ban the club's fans from attending the game was antisemitic, and promised to overturn the ban.
On Sunday, amid widespread media and political fury at the ban in the UK, Israeli police cancelled a planned derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv, after what the police described as "public disorder and violent riots".
According to Jewish News, Maccabi's latest decision to decline any tickets offered to its fans for the match in Birmingham came largely due to an intervention by notorious pro-Israel activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, urged his followers to protest against "Islamist activists" at the much-debated match and posted a photograph of himself in a Maccabi Tel Aviv shirt.
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He is currently in Israel at the invite of its diaspora affairs minister, Amichai Chikli, who last week disparagingly called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a "Palestinian".
Jewish News quoted a source within the club saying that the "risk posed by anti-Israel protesters was substantial, but we thought we had a plan to prevent them from prevailing. But that changed with the intervention of Tommy Robinson.
"There was now also danger that our supporters could be falsely associated with his far-right activities, in front of anti-Israel protestors already out to get them.
"With Robinson's supporters potentially posing as Maccabi fans on the streets of Birmingham, we concluded that the risk had become unacceptable for innocent fans who just want to watch their team play."
Maccabi Tel Aviv's fans have a long track record of causing violence and disruption in European cities.
Amsterdam City Council recently banned Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Dutch capital after the club's fans caused mayhem by rampaging through the city in November, before and after their Europa League match against Ajax.
Western media outlets and politicians had initially been sympathetic to the Maccabi fans, even going as far as describing the counterviolence as a pogrom against them.
However, when footage and local media reports contradicted that narrative, the spotlight on the events dimmed.
'Divisive figures'
Maccabi Tel Aviv's official statement on Monday evening claimed that "various entrenched groups seek to malign the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan base, most of whom have no truck with racism or hooliganism of any kind, and are exploiting isolated incidents for their own social and political ends."
The statement also said: "We are also concerned about the intervention of divisive figures who do not represent the values of our Club."
A UK government spokesperson said: "The government has been working around the clock to defend a basic principle, that football fans should be able to enjoy a game without fear of intimidation or violence.
"We are deeply saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv have turned down their away fan allocation but we respect their right to do so.
"It is completely unacceptable that this game has been weaponised to stoke violence and fear by those who seek to divide us. We will never tolerate antisemitism or extremism on our streets."
In the UK parliament on Monday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the ban recommended by West Midlands Police "chooses exclusion" of Jews.
She falsely claimed that "it is the first time since the early 2000s in this country that a decision has been taken to ban entirely away fans from attending a game".
In fact, in November 2023, Aston Villa banned fans of another club, Legia Warsaw, from attending a match on the advice of West Midlands Police, after supporters of the Polish club engaged in violence.
Nandy said that the decision was "based in no small part on the risk posed to those fans that are attending who support Maccabi Tel Aviv, because they are Israeli and because they are Jewish."
West Midlands Police said last week they had classified the match as high risk based on "current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam".
Before the match in Amsterdam, a large group of Maccabi supporters were filmed arming themselves with sticks, pipes and rocks and provoking clashes with Dutch youths.
Maccabi supporters were filmed chanting racist songs, including "fuck the Arabs" and "Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there!" They were also seen ripping up Palestinian flags.
For two hours after the game, between 12.30am and 2.30am, violent incidents spread throughout the city as the Maccabi fans were confronted by local residents.
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