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TeaHe made allegations against West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council Regarding football match What Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv stand for, essentially, is that the forces and local authorities have failed in their duty to protect the legitimate rights of Israeli fans wishing to attend.
The accusation is serious and has been supported by leaders of all the main political parties except the Greens. Many public figures, including Sir Keir StarmerHas asked to review the decision.
There is a lot of force in his argument. It certainly seems intuitively very wrong that, unusually in continental football, A group of fans should be banned from sports Not just because of their behavior, but because of who they are, i.e. their identity or ethnicity.
There was always the potential for trouble at a football match between an Israeli side in a Muslim area of a major British city, but the fact that the decision has been taken by the council’s Security Advisory Group (SAG) has raised doubts. Police and council accept SAG’s recommendation – The clubs have had little say in the matter – attracting claims that the decision is anti-Semitic, at least in its effect, discriminatory and thus possibly unlawful.
Some of those who have supported the council have not helped matters. Ayub Khan, independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, says that part of the motivation to support the ban is that any Israeli team in any sport, and possibly any cultural event, It should be banned as part of a massive campaign Against the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Apart from public safety concerns, this has proven to be an additional and inflammatory contribution to the debate.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism is seeking a judicial review, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, is meeting Home Office officials to see if there are ways to lift the ban. No 10 says it is working to find solutions “speed of”.
Yet all politicians must understand and respect the principle that operational policing decisions should be taken by individual force commanders. If politicians gain the power to direct the police to take action, whether legally or not, a significant step towards an authoritarian society is taken.
The encounter between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in Amsterdam There was violence and arrests last yearAnd the “extremists” in support of the Israeli trip behaved in a highly provocative manner – chanting racist slogans, mocking the suffering of Palestinian children in Gaza, and tearing down Palestinian flags. Not all fans were guilty of this, and many will not support Israeli government policies, but those who do, and do so loudly, can cause untold distress and civil unrest. There is every reason to suspect that similar or worse scenes will be seen around Birmingham, and that counter-protests will be inevitable. The numbers involved can be formidable.
After Recent tragedy at Manchester synagogueAny police commander or council leader will also be alert to the possibility of terrorism. How would anyone in charge of such an event feel – indeed, how would the country feel – if an extremist found a way to drive a car into a sporting crowd, or plant a bomb nearby?
Would it not be an even greater “national disgrace” to allow that anticipated atrocity to occur? Is it better to take a risk under political pressure, or err on the side of caution to save lives? What intelligence do West Midlands Police and security services have about potential terrorist threats?
Given that the arguments have become so bitter and divisive, it seems inevitable that the ban on far-right supporters will be reviewed. This has become a national issue. It would be best if West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council were given all the advice, intelligence and resources necessary to allow the game to be played as normally as possible. Like larger political demonstrations, this will mean calling in officers from other forces, providing proper equipment, enforcing a wide-spread and “exclusion zone” around Villa Park and its neighbourhoods, tight security of away fans, as well as extensive surveillance and much more.
The Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday 6 November may prove to be one of the strangest matches ever played on British soil, but if it can be made acceptably safe for fans and residents, then it should surely go ahead. If not, and the challenges are probably insurmountable, the operational independence and judgment of the police must be respected. Safety should always come first at any group event.