Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain criticized a local police move to prohibit fans of an Israeli soccer club from attending a match next month against a top-tier British team on security grounds, calling it the “wrong decision.”
The local authorities had categorized the game between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, slated for Nov. 6 at Aston Villa’s stadium in Birmingham, as high-risk, before deciding to bar Maccabi supporters.
Though fans have been barred from European soccer matches before, including at least twice this season, the involvement of an Israeli team coupled with a roiling debate around free speech in Britain and fears of antisemitism there escalated the criticisms of the ban.
“This is the wrong decision,” Mr. Starmer said on Thursday on social media. “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Multiple British government departments were in discussions on Friday to resolve the issues that led to the ban, a government spokesman said.
A national policing unit focused on safety at soccer matches said in a statement it had briefed government officials last week about the potential ban on visiting supporters.
Mr. Starmer’s political opponents condemned the decision in even stronger language, highlighting the pressure on Mr. Starmer’s governing Labour Party to respond. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, called it a “national disgrace.”
Some local politicians in Birmingham, one of Britain’s most diverse cities and the site of pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the war in Gaza, backed the ban.
“From the moment that the match was announced, it was clear that there were latent safety risks that even our capable security and police authorities would not be able to fully manage,” said Ayoub Khan, an independent member of Parliament who secured his seat on a pro-Palestinian platform in elections last year. He had pushed for the game to be canceled.
The authorities and organizers have found arranging games involving Israeli teams a difficult and expensive endeavor since the start of the war in Gaza, which followed the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage.
Protesters in Europe have used soccer matches involving Israeli teams as venues for protests about the war in Gaza, where almost 70,000 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Some games have become a backdrop to confrontations and even violence.
For a World Cup qualifier against Israel last week, Norway launched the biggest security operation for a sports event since it hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics. The game drew fewer than 100 Israeli fans while more than 1,000 people marched in a pro-Palestinian protest in Oslo beforehand. For another World Cup qualifier days later in Italy, military snipers were posted to protect the Israeli national team and its entourage.
The biggest flashpoint came in Amsterdam last year, when Maccabi Tel Aviv played against Ajax, a Dutch club. Violence, antisemitic attacks and anti-Arab chants broke out over two days. A report by the Dutch authorities found that Maccabi fans had torn down and burned a Palestinian flag that had been hanging from a building and engaged in anti-Arab chanting before the game. After the match, Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, described hit-and-run attacks on Maccabi fans that sent five people to the hospital.
In the report, Ms. Halsema said, “What happened over the past few days was a toxic cocktail of antisemitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East.”
West Midlands Police, Birmingham’s main police force, cited the violence in Amsterdam for its decision to bar Maccabi fans from the November match against Aston Villa. The police said they acted to “help mitigate risks to public safety.”
The Israeli government and others pressed the British authorities to review the decision. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, called the ban shameful.
Soccer fandom has a history of emotional confrontations and violence that has prompted local authorities to keep out fans in the name of security. Two years ago, Aston Villa blocked a group of Polish fans from attending a match because of violence before the game. The French interior ministry barred fans of Ajax, the Dutch team, from a game last month in Marseille. The same week, city officials in Naples, Italy, prevented the sale of tickets to supporters of the German team Eintracht Frankfurt for a game.
“In all cases, the competent local authorities remain responsible for decisions related to the safety and security of matches taking place on their territory,” UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, said in a statement.
Some teams have relocated games against Israeli teams on safety grounds. Israeli teams have been unable to host matches since the start of the war over safety concerns. A report by an antiracism group in Israel chronicled a rise in racist behavior at games there, including anti-Arab chants.
Stephen Castle contributed reporting.
Tariq Panja is a global sports correspondent, focusing on stories where money, geopolitics and crime intersect with the sports world.
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