Maccabi Tel Aviv football club banned

Not all will be hooligans but if some are they will be dragged into the fracas whether they like it or not.

And depends on how many is 'a few'
Have any of you actually watched the footage from Amsterdam?

Smileless2012

The Maccabi --trouble makers- fans shouldn't be treated any differently to so called 'fans' of other football teams just because they happen to be Israeli Jews, and that seems to be what you're arguing for Oreo.

We cannot allow calls of antisemitism to distort the real reason for this decision being taken.

But - you are tarring all the fans with the hooligan brush.

It's just their job. Oh well.

Conflation

trouble makers

The Maccabi --trouble makers- fans shouldn't be treated any differently to so called 'fans' of other football teams just because they happen to be Israeli Jews, and that seems to be what you're arguing for Oreo.

We cannot allow calls of antisemitism to distort the real reason for this decision being taken.

The police know these confrontations are a complete waste of scarce resources. If they can b
e avoided it is better for everyone.

There are too few police now and in violent clashes they can be injured too. A colleague of my DH was badly injured in a riot and died later in hospital.
Unnecessary confrontations should be avoided if possible. If these had been any other troublesome fans from other countries nothing would have been said about a ban.

Maremia

It's the Police I feel sorry for. They will be left to deal with whatever ensues.

Which is part and parcel of the job.

Interesting that a few posters think that every single political leader is wrong.

Smileless2012

To answer your question @ 9.42 Oreo yes I do think all those leaders are wrong and if heaven forbid the ban is lifted, there is trouble and Maccabi Tel Aviv 'fans' are responsible, what will you and those leaders have to say then?

The reason given was the the police feared there would be violent protests if the Maccabi fans came here and public safety was an issue.

Yes, the match against Ajax was cited as a reason but:

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified the fixture as "high risk" based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including "violent clashes and hate crime offences" between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.

More than 60 people were arrested over the violence, which city officials described as a "toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger" over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The reason - Hate crime and anti-semitism

Goodness, how facts get distorted 🤔

It's the Police I feel sorry for. They will be left to deal with whatever ensues.

Smileless2012

To answer your question @ 9.42 Oreo yes I do think all those leaders are wrong and if heaven forbid the ban is lifted, there is trouble and Maccabi Tel Aviv 'fans' are responsible, what will you and those leaders have to say then?

I will still think it was the right thing to do, not to ban the whole fanbase of an Israeli team for poor behaviour from a few.In Amsterdam only ten maccabi fans were arrested and as far as I know none were charged.Various Amsterdam residents have just received prison sentences. Muslim taxi drivers and others collaborated on SM to go out on a Jew hunt there.
We can’t allow a minority here to not allow Jews, Israeli Jews in this case to dictate.The police must manage things as they always have to do.

Got it, thanks.

Oreo

It’s absolutely right that Starmer and all the leaders of all the political parties overturn this ban.Which am sure they will do.
Do you think all these leaders are wrong?

Yes.

Galaxy

Well one of the concerns he raised according to the BBC was sexual abuse in Northern towns.

Pardon? What's that got to do with a football match in Birmingham?

To answer your question @ 9.42 Oreo yes I do think all those leaders are wrong and if heaven forbid the ban is lifted, there is trouble and Maccabi Tel Aviv 'fans' are responsible, what will you and those leaders have to say then?

Well one of the concerns he raised according to the BBC was sexual abuse in Northern towns.

Oreo

What kind of country do you want us to be? One where a minority who live in Birmingham can sway the police to be on their side as a sort of appeasement? A country that says no Israelis can come here to watch a football match?It’s a slippery slope.

That is a gross distortion of the truth. Maccabi Tel Aviv has a history of racism and violence, not only in Holland, but in Athens, Serbia and in Israel itself. It's amazing that they haven't been sanctioned before now. They have been banned from Aston Vila on public safety grounds.

No, I don't think it would work and I don't see why Israeli teams should be treated more leniently than other teams.

Maremia...read WWM2s post at 8 20 on page 12..

Wonder what is was he said that was considered to be Islamaphobic, but was possibly the Truth? As you say interesting.

In any case it’s the guests on his show and what they say that’s interesting, he’s just the presenter.He’s done a lot of good work around race relations in the past.

Maremia

Suspended for Islamaphobia, not a great credit, surely?

Temporarily suspended from Labour but reinstated.Anyone who simply stated truths under Corbyn’s regime was likely to be suspended.

That is understandable, their country colours, but Palestinian flags were especially mentioned, just above.