From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Police chief says Maccabi Tel Aviv’s ‘significant levels of hooliganism’ reason for ban at Birmingham game
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“Significant levels of hooliganism” among Maccabi Tel Aviv fans is the reason for their ban at a match between the Israeli team and Aston Villa in Birmingham tonight, West Midlands Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce tells Sky News.
The UK government last month vowed to reverse the ban on Maccabi fans attending the Europa League match in the city in central England, which has a significant Muslim population, after widespread criticism of the decision that had been made by local safety advisers and police.
However, the Israeli club later announced it would decline to accept any tickets for its fans, citing safety concerns.
“We are simply trying to make decisions based on community safety, driven by the intelligence that was available to us and our assessment of the risk that was coming from admitting traveling fans,” Joyce says, ahead of tonight’s match.
“I’m aware there’s a lot of commentary around the threat to the [Maccabi] fans being the reason for the decision. To be clear, that was not the primary driver. That was a consideration,” he continues.
“We have intelligence and information that says that there is a section of Maccabi fans, not all Maccabi fans, but a section who engage in quite significant levels of hooliganism,” he adds.
The Times of Israel Community.