Eleven arrests after pro-Palestine protest outside Aston Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv match
At least 11 people have been arrested over a series of verbal clashes that broke out during a pro-Palestinian protest outside Aston Villa’s controversial Europa League match against Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Villa Park ahead of Thursday night’s match, which took place without visiting fans, after the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group raised public safety concerns.
Demonstrators, including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, gathered outside the stadium’s Trinity Road Stand and a stage was set up for speakers to chant slogans against the IDF and in support of the Palestinians.
They demanded that Israel’s domestic football teams be excluded from UEFA competitions.
However, despite calls for peaceful protests, just before the match kicked off at 20:00, there were numerous clashes between people outside the stadium and those attending the demonstration.
West Midlands Police, with more than 700 officers on duty as part of the major operation, quickly responded to each encounter, mobilizing groups of people and clearing protesters away from stadium entrances.
The atmosphere calmed after the match started, but as Villa fans emerged at half-time, some confronted protesters over the metal fence and at least two objects were seen being thrown back.
Police again quickly moved the groups away from each other and then separated the supporters who decided to stay and the remaining demonstrators after calls for the protest to end at 8.30pm.
Police said a 21-year-old man was arrested for disobeying an order to remove his face mask, while another 21-year-old was arrested for trying to throw fireworks on the ground. A 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a distribution order and a man was also arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs.
Five people were arrested for racially aggravated public order offenses and one for breach of the peace. A 17-year-old boy was arrested after he refused to leave the area despite a dispersal order being issued.
Protest officer Naveed Sadiq said: “It’s unfortunate that there have been some clashes, but when you have a protest of this size and so many people get involved in the game, I’m afraid you’re in the minority and these kinds of things happen.
“Overall, I’m happy with how the protest went. I feel like we did our show of support for Palestine tonight, while putting forward our opinion that Maccabi Tel Aviv should not take part in this competition, given what happened in Gaza.”
Abbas Ali, of the West Midlands Palestine Solidarity group, said: “The match should have been canceled in the first place then this situation wouldn’t have happened. You saw here tonight the strength of the feeling against it locally.”
Many people participating in the protest waved Palestinian flags and banners, with some saying “Stop arming Israel” and “Stop starving Gaza.”
Independent MP Perry Barr was among those who spoke. Ayoub Khan claimed that Israeli teams should experience a similar ban in European competitions to the ban imposed on Russian clubs by UEFA after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“When you see the images of children being murdered, when you understand that more than 800 athletes were killed in Gaza, then you will understand the moral debate,” he told protesters.
Before kick-off, five flatbed vehicles passed the ground carrying electronic billboards with messages against anti-Semitism.
One of the messages read “Ban hate, not the fans” next to the Star of David, while another had a quote from Thierry Henry saying football is about bringing people together, not about scoring goals.
About 40 protesters, one carrying an Israeli flag and others carrying posters reading “Keep anti-Semitism out of football”, gathered on a basketball court on Witton Lane near the Doug Ellis Stand to hear various speakers speak out against the ban on Maccabi fans.
Adam Selway, a Villa fan, said that although he did not make any political statements, he sympathized with the fans not being able to attend and just wanted to watch a football match.
“This has nothing to do with politics, it’s about football,” he said. “It’s not the Villa fans who don’t want anyone here; Villa fans want their away fans to be here.”
Maccabi announced it would refuse any away tickets for the match after the government said it was “working day and night” to ensure fans of both sides could attend the match.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said this was “the wrong decision” and called for the ban on away fans to be lifted.
