Six arrested during protests outside match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv | Aston Villa

Six people were arrested during protests outside Villa Park on Thursday, which sparked intense controversy after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from attending a Europa League match on security grounds.

A large pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in the shadow of Aston Villa stadium; protesters called for the match to be canceled and Israeli teams banned from international football.

A smaller counter-demonstration was held at the away end of the stadium to oppose the ban and “stand in solidarity with Maccabi fans”. As they made their way to the stadium, officers instructed them to hold their protest in a caged basketball court.

More than 700 police officers participated in the action, as well as police dogs, police horses and the drone unit. There was also a Section 60 in place in some parts of Birmingham, which allowed officers to stop and search without reasonable cause.

West Midlands police said three people were arrested for racially aggravated offenses and one for breach of the peace. Additionally, a 21-year-old man was arrested for disobeying an order to remove his face mask and a 17-year-old boy was arrested for disobeying an order to distribute it.

The pro-Palestinian protest outside Aston Villa stadium attracted a large number of people; Speakers, including local independent MP Ayoub Khan, told demonstrators: “We will continue our fight to support our situation and the murdered Palestinians.”

The following signs were hung around the stadium: “War games not allowed. Zionists not welcome.” In videos posted online, protesters can be heard chanting slogans such as “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” and “Death to the IDF.”

The Guardian also heard an officer mention the presence of far-right members and saw people swearing and gesticulating at pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

43-year-old general practitioner Usman Rafiq and his 40-year-old dentist wife Uma Hani attended the protest with their three children. Hani said it was “to show solidarity with the people in Palestine” and that Maccabi “shouldn’t be playing in our city.”

“A lot of people say sports shouldn’t be part of politics, but it is inherently about politics,” Rafiq said. he added.

Asked about criticism of unfair treatment of Maccabi, Usman said: “This is the kind of hooliganism they are displaying, an Islamophobic hooliganism, tearing down Palestinian flags” before addressing the events in Amsterdam.

Birmingham Security Advisory Group (Sag) announced the ban on public safety grounds in October after police classified the match as “high risk” based on available intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” during a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam in 2024.

The ban sparked controversy, with some criticizing it as a capitulation to antisemitism. Keir Starmer said the decision was “wrong” while opposition leader Kemi Badenoch described it as a “national disgrace”.

Birmingham City Council confirmed that pre-match tensions had led to some schools closing early and called for alternative arrangements to be explored as council staff work or travel near the stadium. Police also warned citizens to stay away from the area as much as possible.

Counter-demonstrator Jill Chant, 76, said she was “shocked” by the ban and had come to the stadium “to protest antisemitism and the ban on Israelis coming to Birmingham”. Her husband, Steven Chant, 76, was wearing a Maccabi jersey and said he believed the ban “had nothing to do with football, it had everything to do with sectarian politics, or rather antisemitism”.

Eran Hendler, 57, a hotelier and Maccabi fan from Tel Aviv, called the fan ban “very strange” and said decisions should be made for the majority, not for an “extreme” minority.

Saying that he feels safe in Birmingham, Hendler said: “Even to go to local competitions in Israel, England, you can see that there are some extreme people who do not come to watch the match, but come to cause trouble. But in general, most of the people… want to come to the match.”