Maccabi Tel Aviv football club banned

Boz

I wouldn't take much notice of football chants; they are notoriously awful, fuelled by drink.
Villa have a reputation for fairly mild chants, but my OH and DS are both season ticket holders at Villa and say racist remarks fill the air aimed at the usual minorities but never Jews. People are removed and banned but there are always others to take their place.

I don’t think too much antisemitism (hopefully) would have come from Villa fans Boz it would be local residents and others from further afield who would gather outside the ground intent on trouble.They will be disappointed!

For the government to get involved is wrong. No two ways about it. This was a decision for the police and football authorities.
A precedence has now been established and it is not a good one.

Babs03

For the government to get involved is wrong. No two ways about it. This was a decision for the police and football authorities.
A precedence has now been established and it is not a good one.

Absolutely.

But the government ultimately run the Country.

And it was a complicated situation.

I think I can see all sides in this.
[though no side perfectly].

British fans have been turned away from matches abroad because of violence, without the need for political interference.

Following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) banned all English clubs from European competitions for five years.

The latest rumour is that fans from the UK and Europe will not be allowed to travel to the USA because of online comments.

Re Maccabi Tel Aviv
A club statement said: "The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount, and from hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context.

Will Maccabi Tel Aviv making the decision not to accept ticket allocations for the safety of their fans as per their statement above, man there’ll be no violence at the match?
Will the players and their entourage be safe?

That remains to be seen.

If the violent fans had been from any other country the government would not have got involved.

AGAA4

If the violent fans had been from any other country the government would not have got involved.

I think you’re right.

Mollygo these are my thoughts. The government getting involved and with all the publicity there could still be disruption at this match.
I hope not for the sake of all involved on the day.

fancythat

But the government ultimately run the Country.

And it was a complicated situation.

I think I can see all sides in this.
[though no side perfectly].

Well said fancythat.

AGAA4

If the violent fans had been from any other country the government would not have got involved.

Well no, because there wouldn’t have been a political protest attached to the fans of any other country.

The political element that caused the Government to become involved came from the intentions of the Pro Palestine supporters to protest at the match. And then the call for counter protests.

That was what moved it from a footballer fan based decision.

The Tel Aviv Club has made a statement about not accepting tickets, if offered.

Lathyrus3

AGAA4

If the violent fans had been from any other country the government would not have got involved.

Well no, because there wouldn’t have been a political protest attached to the fans of any other country.

The political element that caused the Government to become involved came from the intentions of the Pro Palestine supporters to protest at the match. And then the call for counter protests.

That was what moved it from a footballer fan based decision.

That fact seems to have got lost with all the discussion about football hooliganism, Lathyrus.

Yup.

I can’t make up my mind whether people really can’t see the much bigger issue

or whether it’s a deliberate smokescreen to try toprevent it being seen.

That's why they were banned in the first place. No other country has the problems that Israel brings with it.
Coupled with a violent fan base there was a public protection issue.
This is what has been said on here from the beginning. Read the thread before making accusations.

Allira

^The decision is based on concerns from West Midlands Police about its ability to deal with potential protests relating the war between Israel and Gaza.^

Sky News

I will post this yet again:

The decision is based on concerns from West Midlands Police about its ability to deal with potential protests relating the war between Israel and Gaza.

Sky News

The Europa League game between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv cited by the West Midlands Police took place on November 7, 2024.

Violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans erupted before the game which led to more than 60 arrests, four men being handed short prison sentences and another given a community service order.

Amsterdam police and prosecutors said "antisemitic" rioters "actively sought out" Israeli supporters to attack and assault them. Footage emerged online which showed fans pulling down a Palestinian flag in central Amsterdam and anti-Arab chants could be heard.

A report from the Amsterdam mayor's office said the violence stemmed from a "toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism and anger" about the war between Israel and Gaza and other conflicts in the Middle East.

Sky News

It is more than worries about football hooliganism

Of course it is . This is what has been said throughout this thread. A belligerent group of fans from Israel would stir people up and there will be trouble. Much more trouble now
than if this had been quietly handled by the government instead of shouting about it.
I think there could still be problems even though Maccabi aren't coming.

Do you think any of the trouble might have been “stirred up”by belligerent Pro Palestine protesters massing at the ground?

If the Maccabi fans aren’t there it will be much clearer where the trouble is coming from. No need for any protesters to gather now.

Well I've googled it Lathyrus and there were no results for Pro Palestinian protesters causing trouble at football matches.

If you Google what's app and Amsterdam you should get some results.

You jump to the conclusion that it will be pro Palestinians protesters Lathyrus when people who have no interest in Israel/Gaza may be angered by the anti-Semitic remarks made about their club.
I hope there won't be any trouble but there has been such a forore over this that there still may be

There are 220 clubs in 16 divisions of football clubs in Israel. The big four include Naccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem. The derby between Maccabi and Hapoel was called off recently after violence between fans

I often agree with Whitewave and may misinterpret your post at 09.06today. Your point is the main difference between British and Israeli fans is politics, their context is different than ours.
Muslim players feature in Israeli teams. “Visceral hatred of Arabs, far right racist rhetoric “ etc are shocking comments. I suspect many of them could be flung at other clubs and nationalities.

I’m uneasy about the accusations which dam Israelis

Iam64 There are indeed Muslim players in Israeli teams, both Israeli Arabs and Muslims from outside Israel. It's quite common for them to suffer anti-Muslim/Arab chanting/abuse, but little is done about it by the Israeli authorities.

I agree with you that not all Israelis should be damned for the behaviour of the Maccabi ultras, just as not every English person was damned when Millwall was considered one of the most racist and violent teams in Europe.

I think Whitewave is right about politics, although I'm not sure she's aware of the team's historic context. Maccabi Tel Aviv was founded in 1909, long before the state of Israel existed. It was founded as a Jewish club at a time when Palestine had an Arab majority, with a Star of David as its logo. After WW1, when the British controlled Palestine, Maccabi was still the only Jewish football team in the area of the Mandate. It was the strongest team in the area and became associated with Zionism and that link persists to this day.

Oh Smiless. Italy, Norway…….

Estonia, Bayer Munich

Even poor old Clayton

It’s all there if you want to find it