West Midlands police chief sorry for saying Jewish community supported Maccabi fan ban | West Midlands
A senior police officer has apologized to Birmingham’s Jewish residents after telling MPs some expressed support for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans not being able to attend last month’s match against Aston Villa.
The decision to ban supporters of the Israeli team from a Europa League match at Villa Park in Birmingham triggered political uproar, with Keir Starmer saying he was “outraged by the decision”.
West Midlands chief constable Craig Guildford, deputy chief constable Mike O’Hara and police and crime commissioner Simon Foster were questioned by the home affairs committee on Monday about their decisions.
O’Hara told the panel that some Jewish representatives told them they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the game in Birmingham on November 6.
A spokesman for West Midlands police said on Saturday: “We recognize that this is a difficult time for our local Jewish community, which is why we have been and continue to be actively involved.
“At Monday’s HASC meeting, a number of questions were asked, often with several sections and secondary points raised.
“In answering these questions, the officer’s intention was not to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who openly supported the exclusion of Maccabi fans.”
The Sunday Times reported that he has now written to Jewish representatives in Birmingham to apologize.
The decision by Birmingham’s security advisory group to ban fans was partly based on police intelligence.
This fixture had been classed as high risk by the police; The police claimed that violent clashes and hate crimes occurred during the Europa League match played in Amsterdam between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2024.
However, according to the Sunday Times newspaper, the Dutch police objected to the accuracy of this information.
The Israeli embassy in London had previously said West Midlands police’s use of “undisproved allegations” about the behavior of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans during a match in Amsterdam as evidence that they posed a threat to public safety in Birmingham was “highly misleading, deeply disturbing and risks escalating tensions”.
West Midlands police said: “We have provided MPs with a full and comprehensive explanation of the information, intelligence and risk assessment process carried out ahead of last month’s football match and we will continue to respond to follow-up questions asked by the HASC and actively participate in the wider work of Her Majesty’s Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Inspectorate, commissioned by the Home Secretary.”
