UK police officers probed for banning Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans from 2025 match

LONDON — A former British regional police chief and three other officers are being investigated for misconduct over a decision to ban fans of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team from attending a game last year, the UK’s independent police watchdog said on Wednesday.

The probe follows reports earlier this year that the ban was based on inaccurate intelligence and may have resulted from bias. The chief constable of West Midlands Police Craig Guildford resigned in the wake of those allegations.

On Wednesday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was now investigating Guildford and a staff member for gross misconduct, and three other officers for lesser misconduct offenses.

“We have examined a wealth of material, hundreds of pieces of evidence, and believe there is an indication some people serving with the police may potentially have behaved in a manner that could justify disciplinary proceedings,” IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell said in a statement.

The West Midlands police force, which covers Birmingham in central England and is one of Britain’s biggest, had recommended that the Israeli fans not be allowed to attend a Europa League match against Aston Villa last November because of security concerns.

In European soccer, teams typically allocate a portion of their tickets to be sold by the visiting team, usually in a separate section of the stands. This is in contrast to most major American sports, where fans of the visiting team can usually buy tickets anywhere in the stadium.

The decision was condemned by both the British and Israeli governments at the time, and Jewish community leaders accused the force of misrepresenting intelligence and undermining public confidence.

Released Hamas hostage Emily Damari, a British citizen, immediately slammed the decision. The Board of Deputies of British Jews charged that the ban created the “harmful notion of ‘no-go’ zones” for Jews and Israelis in the UK at a time when rising antisemitism was already causing Jews to think twice before leaving their homes.

The game went ahead without Maccabi fans. There was no major disruption, although police made 11 arrests when pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli supporters demonstrated outside the stadium.

But a report released in February by a panel of UK lawmakers into the ban found that police failed to perform basic due diligence or liaise effectively with the Jewish community, while the government’s intervention in the matter failed to improve the situation.

The committee of seven lawmakers said they found no evidence of a “conspiracy” to keep out the Israeli fans, but said they “cannot rule out the suggestion that political pressure played a part” in what one of the authors — Labour MP Joani Reid — called “among the most serious policing failures in recent years.”

According to the report, “evidence was selected partially in order to justify the ban, and West Midlands Police were overly reliant on inaccurate and unverified information about the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.”

That came after a January report found that police succumbed to “confirmation bias” in their risk assessments. Guilford resigned in the wake of that report.