Birmingham sees Maccabi-Villa demos amid ‘unprecedented’ policing

Hundreds of protesters descended on Birmingham to demonstrate at the controversial Aston Villa match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Eleven arrests were made amid a huge police operation, with more than 700 officers deployed for the Europa League match.

A large number of pro-Palestinian supporters waved banners and flags outside Villa Park, while a smaller group of pro-Israeli campaigners marched towards the ground in the wake of the decision to ban away fans from the game.

Ch Supt Tom Joyce said the vast police presence had been necessary due to several groups arranging protests and counter-protests ahead of the game.

“We police football matches a lot. We police protests a lot. We deal with all sorts of public order scenarios, but certainly the level of interest, the level of concern around this match is pretty unprecedented.”

Among those arrested were five people on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences.

One man, 21, was arrested after allegedly trying to throw fireworks into the ground, while another was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs with intention to supply.

Another 21-year-old was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, and a boy of 17 was held for failing to comply with a dispersal order. Another person was arrested for a breach of the peace.

There were minor scuffles shortly before the match began at 20:00 GMT as the final groups of fans made their way into the ground past the demonstrations.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the stadium, waving flags and banners calling for an end to violence in Gaza.

A counter-protest by pro-Israeli campaigners marched down a road outside Villa Park. Five flatbed vehicles were also driven past the ground prior to kick-off, carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.

One message, beside a Star of David, read “Ban hatred not fans” while another carried a quote from Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.

On Thursday, numbers of officers from the West Midlands force were boosted by police from 10 forces across the country.

Ch Supt Joyce, Birmingham’s police commander, said police had prepared for the possibility of people turning up looking for a fight.

He told Sky News that “significant levels of hooliganism” among the Maccabi fan base was the reason for the ban.

Police are using Section 60 powers – which allow officers to stop and search anyone – in an area stretching from Aston and Perry Barr to Birmingham New Street and the city centre, which started at midday and run until 03:00 on Friday.

Villa supporter Adam Selway turned up for the match wearing a half-and-half scarf in the colours of the home side and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The 48-year-old said he felt sympathy with fans unable to attend and simply wanted to watch a football match, but that he was not making any political statement.

“It’s not about politics, it’s about football,” he said. “It’s not the Villa fans that don’t want anyone here – the Villa fans want the away fans here.”

Earlier, those living and working in the city near Villa Park saw shops and schools close early.

Jewish Villa fan Elliot Ludvig described his apprehension about attending the match.

Mr Ludvig, who was going to the game with his son, told the BBC: “I’m apprehensive about what’s going to happen. I’m apprehensive about the potential for violence for one thing.

“I’m apprehensive about various unpleasantries that we might encounter along the way, both outside the stadium and inside the stadium.”

He said his other major emotion was “disappointment”.

“Is it worth going to a football game to potentially put myself at some sort of risk and or expose my son to to all sorts of unpleasantries which you might not want to?,” he asked.

Those who called for calm included one fan group, the Punjabi Villans, which urged people to respect each other and for everyone to get home safely, posting on social media: “We’re in this together. Football unites us.”

On Wednesday night, the chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Jack Angelides, said it was “incredibly sad” his side’s fans could not be there, adding: “Politics should never be drawn into football.”

As plans for protests were drawn up earlier in the week, Naeem Malik, chair of West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said there had been national outrage over the hosting of the Israeli team.

“The calls to cancel this match have been ignored despite the risks that it carries, therefore we must urge activists to unite in protest against this match,” he said.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Kashmir solidarity campaign and Palestinian Forum in Britain had called for the match to be cancelled and jointly organised one of the protests.

Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Ayoub Khan, was among the most vocal opponents of the game taking place and attended a demonstration outside Villa Park, leading a chant of Free, Free Palestine.

“We have a very diverse community here, we have children here, families that have come out to support the plight of the Palestinians,” he said.

“We have shown that we are a welcoming community, that we want to support footballers but we don’t support hooligans, and we don’t support genocide.”

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza with reasonable grounds to conclude four out of five genocidal acts had been carried out.

Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the UN report, denouncing it as “distorted and false”.