Maccabi Tel Aviv were banned during Aston Villa’s 2-0 victory over the club at Villa Park last November, and now UK decision makers want to know why.
The banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for the club’s UEFA Europa League fixture against Aston Villa in November 2025 was “no conspiracy” according to the UK’s West Midlands Police.
Birmingham City Council figureheads and West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford were questioned by local politicians on January 6 regarding the accuracy of alleged claims by the Dutch police force on the behaviour of the fans of the Israeli football club during its November 2024 Europa League tie against Ajax.
Guildford stated he stands by the accuracy of the information from a letter sent from Dutch police in the police and council’s decision to ban Maccabi fans from Villa Park.
However, the BBC uncovered a letter from the Dutch police inspectorate in December which appears to contradict safety concerns claims the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group (SAG) made in regards to its decision and claims were justifiable.
Guildford, speaking in front of the UK’s House Affairs Committee, remained committed to the police’s stance and claimed he did not doubt the “integrity” of his officers. The Committee stated it will reach out to Dutch police for further information.
The match in question
West Midlands Police – part of SAG sitting alongside council and other local authority members – ultimately banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans 2025 due to a “high risk” public safety concern.
The decision drew criticism from Parliament and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with BBC revealing some politicians “suggested it amounted to antisemitism”.
The ban on Maccabi fans was determined after taking into consideration safety concerns relating to the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv match in November 2024, which resulted in violent protests due to the heightening of tensions amid the war in Gaza at that time.
While UK police leaned on Dutch police’s intelligence to ban Maccabi fans, politicians asked Guildford if the amount of Dutch police officers called out over the violence in Amsterdam a year ago had been made up.
“No, that’s not right,” he said.
“It was a professional assumption of what would be required over the period of days.”
Guildford also said he does not believe there was any political influence on the decision and asserted that “we’re not an organisation that doesn’t learn from things, and we treat each event on its own merits”.
