More than 700 officers to police Aston Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv match

More than 700 police officers were preparing to carry out an operation in Birmingham for Aston Villa’s UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, and warnings of disruption and protests came from the police.

West Midlands Police said officers would keep the public safe and tackle all forms of crime and disorder in the city on Thursday, along with police horses, dogs, the force’s drone unit and road policing officers.

Planned protests include Palestinian fans demanding the match be cancelled.

Last month, the decision to ban Tel Aviv fans from the event focus of debates at parliamentary level. The Israeli club later said fans would not travel to Birmingham for security reasons.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Kashmir solidarity campaign and the Palestine Forum in the UK staged a joint protest, calling for the match to be cancelled.

Birmingham Police Commander Ch Supt Tom Joyce said: “We know there will be protests from a range of groups on the day and we have plans in place that balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham.”

Mr Joyce said officers were experienced in policing high-profile football matches and demonstrations and had been working closely with different faith and local community groups for weeks to listen to their views and concerns.

He said: “Our aim throughout the planning of this match is to ensure people can enjoy their football fixture whilst continuing to keep everyone in Birmingham safe.”

This includes facilitating peaceful protests and keeping the peace, he said.

Naeem Malik, chairman of the West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said there was national outrage over the hosting of the Israeli team.

“Calls to cancel this match have been ignored despite the risks it poses, so we must call on activists to unite to protest this match,” he said.

He claimed that the Israeli side was “directly involved in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza” due to the club’s involvement in Israel’s infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry declared that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that there were reasonable grounds for this. Four out of five acts of genocide were committed – A claim denied by the Israeli foreign ministry.

Mr Malik said the pro-Palestinian protest would continue throughout the match, with groups coming together chanting peaceful slogans.