Aston Villa warns fans against showing political messages during Maccabi match

Aston Villa has urged supporters not to display political symbols, messages or flags during next month’s Europa League match at home to Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

With Israel’s participation in international sports under pressure over the war against Hamas in Gaza, the soccer match sparked political controversy after a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) covering Villa Park in Birmingham, last week blocked visiting fans from attending the November 6 match following a police risk assessment.

That decision drew political criticism, including from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with widespread calls for the ruling to be reversed. The British government said Friday it was working to allow Israeli fans to be present.

The government said it was “working around the clock” to ensure fans from both clubs could attend, but Maccabi announced Monday it would decline any tickets for the clash at Villa Park.

On Tuesday, Villa warned fans against contravening protocols issued by UEFA, the governing body of European football, which bans the display of political messages inside stadiums.

“As per UEFA guidance, the displaying of political symbols, messages or flags during the match is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate ejection and the issuing of a stadium ban,” the club said in a statement.

The Premier League club added that it will not be selling tickets for the vacant away end and warned supporters against reselling their tickets.

The UK government had been expecting police to set out their needs this week to oversee the game with both sets of supporters present.

But Maccabi said late Monday it would not accept any tickets for the match.

“The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount and from hard lessons learned, we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” said a Maccabi statement.

The announcement came only a day after police called off the Israeli Premier League match between Maccabi and city rivals Hapoel because of “riots” between rival fans.

Maccabi insisted its supporters were not involved in the unrest, while its statement questioned the motivation of those leading calls for a ban on away supporters at Villa Park.

“Our fans regularly travel all over Europe without incident and to suggest that the reason our fans cannot be allowed to travel is due to their behavior is an attempt to distort reality and to excuse the real underlying reasons for the decision to ban our fans.”

Starmer’s spokesman said the government was still talking to police about putting extra resources in place for the match so both sets of fans could attend.

A number of British left-wing independent and Green politicians backed the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, with some calling for the wider exclusion of Israeli teams from international competitions.

Birmingham has been the scene of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel rallies since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

A match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November saw supporters of the Israeli team being assaulted in Amsterdam in hit-and-run attacks.