UK authorities seeking to reverse soccer club’s ban on Israeli fans

British authorities are looking into reversing a decision made by the Aston Villa soccer club to bar Israeli fans from attending its match against Maccabi Tel Aviv next month, Science and Technology Minister Ian Murray said in a round of interviews with British news outlets on Friday.

The Birmingham-based Premier League club said Thursday that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would not be allowed to attend due to security concerns.

The announcement followed a wave of anti-Israel protests in recent days during the Israeli national team’s World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Italy, with police using tear gas on protesters and pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Oslo and Udine. Last year, fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were ambushed and violently attacked by organized gangs in Amsterdam following a match against Ajax.

The Villa decision drew condemnation from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as from the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Reform UK.

Murray told Sky News that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will meet with Home Office officials later Friday “to see if there’s a way through” the ban, which he said is “completely and utterly unacceptable.”

He acknowledged, however, that it may not be possible to override the ban if it becomes “an operational issue for the police.”

“The government is working with policing and other partners to do everything in our power to ensure this game can safely go ahead, with all fans present,” a government spokesperson said later Friday. “We are exploring what additional resources and support are required so all fans can attend.”

According to the BBC, the UK’s West Midlands Police supported the ban on Maccabi fans attending the game, due to concerns that there would be a repeat of the “violent clashes and hate crime offenses that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.”

Still, Murray told Sky News that the UK “can’t allow this (the ban) to happen.”

“We can’t allow a country to become a place where we’re excluding people from public events,” he said.

Separately, he told the BBC that the ban is “the wrong decision in terms of antisemitism, but it also [sends] the wrong message to the entire country — that you would be banned from going to public events if you’re of the wrong race, religion or creed.”

A spokesperson for the prime minister told UK media Friday that Starmer was “angered” by the ban and that Downing Street was working to change the decision.

“Like everyone seeing this news, the PM has been angered by the decision,” the spokesperson said, according to Sky News. “We are working toward changing this decision, and we are working to support relevant partners.”

“It’s an operational decision for the police, but as everyone can see, the prime minister has been angered by this news,” the spokesperson said. “Ministers and local officials are working with police to try and amend this decision.”

The spokesperson said there will be a further update later Friday.

Downing Street also pushed back after independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who campaigned for the match against the Israeli team to be canceled and called Israeli fans “terrorists.”

“Thank you to all who put the safety of Aston Villa fans, Birmingham residents and the British public above the Zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot in our country,” wrote Mohamed Thursday, celebrating the decision.

When asked if the lawmaker was using acceptable language, the spokesperson said: “No, the prime minister has made his opinion very clear.”

Starmer condemned the decision on Thursday, writing in a post on X that “This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets,” he said. “The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

Fighting antisemitism is high on Starmer’s agenda after two Jewish worshippers were murdered on October 2 in an antisemitic attack on a synagogue in Manchester. On Thursday, he pledged extra funding for the protection of Jewish communities, who have accused his Labour government of neglecting them.

Antisemitism has been rampant throughout the UK since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel.

Meanwhile, former hostage Emily Damari, a dual British-Israeli citizen and fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv, condemned Aston Villa’s “disgusting decision,” which she said represented the very opposite of what soccer stands for.

“I am shocked to my core with this outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK,” Damari wrote on X.

“Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, color or religion, and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite. Shame on you.”

Urging the club to “come to your senses and reconsider,” Damari likened Aston Villa’s announcement to “putting a big sign on the outside of the stadium saying ‘No Jews allowed.’”

I was released from Hamas captivity in January and I am a die hard fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
I am shocked to my core with this outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK.
Football is a way of bringing people together… https://t.co/ngqsP2qbKI

— Emily Damari (@EmilyDamari1) October 17, 2025

Villa said the club had been informed by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), responsible for issuing certificates for matches, that no away fans would be permitted at the Europa League match on November 6.

UEFA, which runs the Europa League, has called on the clubs and authorities to “agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow” Maccabi fans to be able to attend.

Israeli teams have become a focus for pro-Palestinian protesters amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Global soccer body FIFA has faced repeated calls to act against Israel, with Palestinian officials pressing for Israel to be suspended from international soccer.

UEFA appeared poised for an emergency vote on suspending Israel from European competition last month, but reportedly held off on a proposed vote following the announcement of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, which was adopted last week.

UK loses bid to block challenge to Palestine Action ban

Separately on Friday, the British government lost its bid to block the co-founder of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campaign group Palestine Action from bringing a legal challenge over the banning of the group under anti-terrorism laws.

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, was given permission to challenge the group’s proscription, with her case due to be heard next month.

Britain’s Home Office (interior ministry) asked the Court of Appeal to overturn that decision and rule that any challenge to proscription should be heard by a specialist tribunal.

Judge Sue Carr rejected the Home Office’s appeal, saying Ammori’s case can proceed in the High Court.

Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the government in July, making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

More than 1,000 people have since been arrested for holding signs in support of the group, with over 100 charged.

Palestine Action was banned a month after some of its members broke into the RAF Brize Norton air base and damaged two planes, for which four members have been charged.