UK police chief expected to resign over handling of ban on Israeli soccer fans

By ToI Staff and Agencies 16 January 2026, 5:18 pm

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Screen grab taken from the UK's Parliament TV of Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Craig Guildford giving evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on soccer policing, January 8, 2026. (House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images)

The chief constable of the UK’s West Midlands police is expected to resign amid criticism of his handling of a ban on visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for a soccer match last year, British media reports.

British interior minister Shabana Mahmood said earlier this week she no longer had confidence in Chief Constable Craig Guildford after he eventually admitted AI was to blame for erroneous evidence given to MPs over the decision to ban Israeli fans from a game against Aston Villa.

Scrutiny has increased on West Midlands police after multiple pieces of evidence used to justify the ban decision proved flawed, with the force rejecting allegations that the move was motivated by politics rather than fan safety.

The police classified the game in Birmingham in November as “high risk,” citing previous Maccabi games, including a Europa League encounter in Amsterdam, which saw clashes between locals and Israeli fans in which Dutch police have said the Israelis were targeted.

Police also cited a game between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv that never took place.

When questioned about this by lawmakers earlier this month, Guildford insisted that the error was the result of a Google search and that the force had not used artificial intelligence in its research.

However, in a letter to MPs on Wednesday, Guildford admitted that the erroneous information was due to the use of Microsoft Copilot, an AI chatbot.