How the Gaza war overshadowed the beautiful game as Tel Aviv Maccabi fans banned from Aston Villa match
A.After weeks of political wrangling, Aston Villa will face Maccabi Tel Aviv FC in Birmingham on Thursday evening, with the latter team’s fans not allowed to attend.
Fans were banned from the 6 November Europa League match after the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group (SAG) raised concerns about fan safety, sparking a political row that overshadowed the match.
Critics claimed the decision was anti-Semitic and punished law-abiding supporters for the actions of a minority. While the UK government has promised to try to overturn the decision, albeit unsuccessfully, Phil Rosenberg, chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, warned that the “ridiculous” ban risked “giving the impression that there are ‘no go’ zones in this country”.
The war in Gaza is at the center of the increasing tension following reports that ‘Jews were hunted’ during a Maccabi match played in Amsterdam last year, anti-Arab slogans and Palestinian flags were destroyed, and problems spilled onto the streets.
Campaigners against racism in football say previous incidents involving some Maccabi fans should be a ‘wake-up call’ and the latest figures point to a growing problem.
The study, conducted by the non-profit Kick It Out Israel and examining the Israeli first league in the 2024-25 season, found a 64% increase in racist incidents compared to the previous season. This situation was seen among the fans of 13 of the 14 clubs in the league.
There were a total of 367 racist chanting incidents across all teams; these include 118 incidents of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, up from 75 in the 2023/24 season. The most common slogan recorded was “Let the IDF win, fuck the Arabs”, a reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the country’s army.
The director of Kick It Out Israel said the 2024-25 season “will be remembered not for football itself, but for a series of troubling events that concern every citizen in Israel.” Guard reports. Matan Segal added that there was a “lack of enforcement against racism, violence and homophobia” in the game.
Nicholas McGeehan, founding co-director of FairSquare, a non-profit organization focusing on human rights abuses and sport, believes that right-wing politics in Israel have “infiltrated and influenced football”, citing both the war in Gaza and the “increasingly entrenched system of apartheid in Israel”.
“It seems clear that the state’s actions will inevitably affect the way football is managed,” he said. Independent. “There is a serious problem with systemic racism in Israeli football and the Israeli Football Federation is not taking any steps to effectively counter this.”
Mr McGeehan claimed discrimination at Israeli clubs such as Maccabi Tel Aviv was “widespread and serious” and called on the IFA to introduce clearer policies aimed at tackling racism, up to sanctions and stadium closures.
“When the violation of the rules is so obvious, the football management needs to step in,” he said, and suggested that Kick It Out Israel’s report should be a “wake-up call” for UEFA.
“Amsterdam should have been the point where UEFA stepped in and investigated and I think suspended the Israeli FA from the competition,” he continued. “If that were the case, there would be no such political debates about Maccabi fans in the UK.”
Britain’s culture minister Lisa Nandy said there was a “minority” of fans whose behavior was “reprehensible” but that this “does not apply to all fans”. “What is surprising in this case is that a ban on all away fans due to the behavior of a small minority is unprecedented in modern times,” he added.
It is not the first time this season that away fans have been banned from attending European matches.
Last month, Eintracht Frankfurt announced that UEFA rejected the objection to move the Champions League match to be played in Naples to a neutral venue after fans were banned from attending. The match took place on Tuesday without any fans from the German club.
Italian authorities issued an order to Napoli in September denying the German club the usual ticket allocation to visiting teams due to the risk of violence between both sets of fans.
History of problems off the field
- In 2014, three Maccabi fans were arrested in early morning raids for verbally attacking Israeli Arab midfielder Mahran Radi.
- Maccabi fans were accused of punching and pepper spraying five Aek Larnaca fans after a Conference League match played in Israel in 2023.
- During last summer’s Conference League match against Olympiakos, Greek media reported that Israeli fans attacked a man carrying a Palestinian flag who reportedly shouted anti-Israeli slogans.
- Last year, before the match against Ajax in Amsterdam, Tel Aviv fans clashed with pro-Palestinian fans. Following the clashes, 60 people were detained and problems were reported with fans on both sides.
- Maccabi fans set the Palestinian flag on fire and destroyed others. Slogans were heard: “Why are there no schools in Gaza, there are no children left there?”
- The mayor of Amsterdam also stated that there were anti-Semitic attacks against Jewish visitors to the city, telling reporters that men on scooters were “hitting and running” at Maccabi fans.
- Five people were later convicted for violence, and the Dutch court said there was “no justification for calling for and resorting to physical violence against Israeli supporters.”
- More recently, the derby match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was canceled after smoke bombs and flares were thrown from the terraces of the partner stadium before kick-off.
- 12 civilians and 3 police officers were injured in the incident. Police arrested nine people and said the decision to cancel was due to a perception that “human lives were being endangered”.
- Other Israeli clubs also have problems. Beitar Jerusalem’s office was set on fire while the club was signing two Muslim players from Chechnya in 2013. Due to poor treatment from fans, players needed police protection.
- Last year, the match had to be abandoned after Hapoel Be’er Sheva fans attacked Bnei Sakhnin fans, formerly supported by Israeli Arabs, who turned their backs during the Israeli anthem.
Maccabi says it is rooting out troublesome minority
Israel is not the only country facing such problems in football. Racism reaches record high in UK match; Kick It Out received 1,398 reports of discrimination in the 2024/25 season; This figure is more than double that of four seasons ago.
The response from Maccabi FC, which criticized the SAG’s decision to ban its fans and denied any allocation for away fans, was that an “extreme” minority was creating problems and that it was working to resolve this.
“Our fans regularly travel throughout Europe without incident and to suggest that the reason our fans are not allowed to travel is because of their behavior is an attempt to distort the truth and excuse the real reasons underlying the decision to ban our fans,” the club said in a statement last month. “Our fans and the Jewish community know this tactic very well and know very well where it can lead.
“Our team consists of Muslim, Christian and Jewish players and our fan base transcends ethnic and religious divides.
“We are also working tirelessly to root out racism within the more extreme elements of our fan base. Unfortunately, these issues are not limited to Israeli football and are issues the sport is grappling with around the world, including in the UK.”
Jack Angelides, CEO of Maccabi, said: Sky News The day before the Aston Villa match, he stated that “no clear reason was given” for the ban.
“There are elements in the club that are not in line with our values, our morals, and we are spending a lot of energy and trying to eliminate this for many years,” he said.
“But denigrating thousands and thousands of good fans through the actions of a few people is a dangerous game because I think it’s something that doesn’t actually help alleviate the agitation that’s going on right now. It’s manipulating my mind.”
What do football authorities say?
Despite the increase in racist incidents, the Israeli Football Federation initiated only 12 disciplinary proceedings for fan racism in the 2024/2025 season. No lawsuits were filed against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, despite recording the most incidents of any club.
In response to controversy over the fan ban, the IFA stressed that racism is an issue across the game, regardless of country. The IFA said it addresses such issues through education, information campaigns and disciplinary action.
“Racist comments are a part of almost every league and are an issue that both world and European football are dealing with,” a spokesman said. Independent.
“Racial comments from fans have no place on football fields and in general. In the face of manifestations of antisemitism and racist comments against Israel and Jews, we insist on proving that the opposite is possible.
“Those who accuse Israeli football of racism would do better to look at themselves first.”
Independent It approached Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and UEFA for comment.
