Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans deemed based on flawed evidence
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at Villa Park was based on “flawed evidence”, according to a new report, reports BritPanorama.
West Midlands Police have faced mounting criticism after prohibiting Israeli football supporters from entering Villa Park, despite an official Dutch investigation exonerating them of violent conduct during incidents in Amsterdam that the force used to justify its decision.
The force categorised the fixture as high risk based on disturbances during the Israeli team’s match against Ajax in Amsterdam the previous year. However, a Dutch police document revealed that Amsterdam authorities had determined Maccabi supporters were actually victims of orchestrated attacks rather than instigators.
In their risk assessment ahead of the Villa Park encounter, WMP alleged that substantial numbers of Maccabi supporters had participated in “demonstrations and confrontations” during the Amsterdam fixture. The force went further, claiming that up to 600 Israeli fans had engaged in “a variety of targeted, hate-motivated crimes”. These assertions formed the basis of WMP’s recommendation to Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group, leading to the exclusion of all Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from the stadium.
The ban drew immediate condemnation from senior government figures, with both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary criticising the decision at the time. The official Dutch investigation into the Amsterdam incidents would later undermine the force’s characterisation of events. Reported by the Jewish Chronicle, findings compiled by Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla and chief prosecutor René de Beukelaer highlighted that Maccabi supporters were targeted by “groups … looking for a confrontation” and explicitly stated that the Israeli fans “do not have a violent reputation”.
Most significantly, arrest figures from the Amsterdam clashes revealed that merely 10 of the 59 individuals detained were Israeli nationals, while 49 were Dutch citizens. The report characterised the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv encounter as “not a high-risk match from a football perspective”, according to UEFA, and assessments of both clubs and Dutch police.
These revelations have prompted questions about the accuracy of the intelligence WMP relied upon when advising Birmingham authorities to implement the unprecedented ban. Discrepancies between WMP’s assessment and the Dutch findings have led to calls for transparency from prominent political figures. Andrew Mitchell, the former Conservative cabinet minister representing Birmingham’s Sutton Coldfield constituency, described the ban as “ill-judged” and urged WMP to “set the record straight by releasing all advice they have received from Dutch authorities in full.”
Labour peer Lord McCabe echoed these concerns, asserting that these contradictory reports demand swift clarification from WMP. He characterised the entire episode as “an unedifying saga from start to finish”, reflecting growing political pressure on the force to explain the stark differences between their risk assessment and the Dutch authorities’ conclusions.
Despite this controversy, the investigation revealed that subsequent violence against Maccabi fans had been premeditated, with WhatsApp messages presented at a Dutch trial exposing plans for what participants termed a “Jew hunt”. Video appeared to show Israeli supporters being forced to jump into Amsterdam canals to escape attackers, with others pleading for mercy while declaring, “I am not Jewish”. WMP declined to address the Dutch report’s findings, instead referencing Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce’s earlier statement that the operation had “achieved its aims of keeping everyone in attendance safe”.
This incident reminds us how complex the intersections of sport and safety can be, revealing stark realities lurking beneath the surface of a game meant to unite rather than divide.
