Maccabi Tel Aviv football club banned

Oreo I don't know how many derby matches have become so violent that they are cancelled.
The police want to protect British citizens. That is their job and any fans with a record of violence should not be here wherever they are from.

They're not being banned because they're from Israel Oreo, they're being banned because they cause so much trouble. The reason that the whole focus of the ban is because they're Jews is due to the false narrative that this ban is rooted in antisemitism; it isn't.

Oreo

I can tell that many on here aren’t football fans or they would know more about derby matches ( anywhere in the world can be pretty bad) and the core of fans who are violent.
Celtic and Rangers anyone? Same in France, Spain, Italy and so on. Then there are the Eastern European fans!!
I think you either ban all international matches, or if they come here and they instigate unacceptable levels of violence you ban them ( like the Polish fans at Villa Park).
What you don’t do is ban them because they’re from Israel.
The whole focus of the ban on them is not football violences but because they’re Jews and the area around Aston has a high proportion of Muslim residents.
That’s really what all this is about.

No it isn't. Maccabi Tel Aviv have a terrible reputation, even in Israel. This is not about antisemitism. It's about a team which frequently chants about anti-Arab racism. They're not welcome in an area, where they despise the inhabitants and have shown what they're capable of doing. Simples!

AGAA4

I wonder if Starmer regrets getting involved in the situation after the violence in Israel.

Yes I have wondered that.

I do think the point about the separation of police and politics is really important.

The police look at security and risk and nothing else. To suggest otherwise is to politicise the police, which is a very dangerous road to travel.

I can tell that many on here aren’t football fans or they would know more about derby matches ( anywhere in the world can be pretty bad) and the core of fans who are violent.
Celtic and Rangers anyone? Same in France, Spain, Italy and so on. Then there are the Eastern European fans!!
I think you either ban all international matches, or if they come here and they instigate unacceptable levels of violence you ban them ( like the Polish fans at Villa Park).
What you don’t do is ban them because they’re from Israel.
The whole focus of the ban on them is not football violences but because they’re Jews and the area around Aston has a high proportion of Muslim residents.
That’s really what all this is about.

It is something he can look into, before he decides what to plan.

I wonder if Starmer regrets getting involved in the situation after the violence in Israel.

Maremia

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, the whole derby match has been cancelled because of 'violent riots'.
BBC online just now.

I've just seen this. Many hurt in the violence between two Israeli teams including police. So bad that the match was called off.
Do we really want this team here? Those who think this Maccabi team should come to Aston Villa need to think again.
Nobody can say this was antisemitism.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, the whole derby match has been cancelled because of 'violent riots'.
BBC online just now.

NotSpaghetti

As I said earlier, I don't want our government to tell the police to overturn decisions.
This is what's started to happen in America and then you could have a police state.

Let's keep our police and politicians apart.

This is a very important point, and something we should certainly not overlook.

As I said earlier, I don't want our government to tell the police to overturn decisions.
This is what's started to happen in America and then you could have a police state.

Let's keep our police and politicians apart.

eazybee

Aston Villa should have considered the implications of hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv football team and its inherent security risks first, rather than announcing the game then complaining about possible violence and unleashing accusations of anti-Semitism.
But as ever, football is only concerned about itself.

I don't think it works like that. It's a Europa League match, so UEFA will have organised the venue.

West Midlands Police then decided it would be "high risk" and informed Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which is responsible for issuing safety certificates.

Aston Villa has had nothing to do with the outcome. Ultimately, the police decided it doesn't have the resources to manage the fans safely, given Maccabi Tel Aviv's past record for racism and violence.

Why isn't done thing done about Maccabi fans in their win country, why are they allowed to travel. No one wants them.
Hope the match goes ahead but without these people. All this messing about is daft, it's a safety issue.

Aston Villa should have considered the implications of hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv football team and its inherent security risks first, rather than announcing the game then complaining about possible violence and unleashing accusations of anti-Semitism.
But as ever, football is only concerned about itself.

I'm not really sure what's behind the ban in Tel Aviv - I expect more details will be published later. I wonder if anybody is going to accuse the Israeli police of being antisemitic.

As I found out last year when I was chatting to somebody who spent his teenage years in Israel, those two teams need to sort out their fans, regardless of anything which is happening in Gaza.

Why can’t the game be played without the Maccabi fans? They could watch it on television, and not riot, good all around.

"The Israeli Premier League derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled before kick-off on Sunday, after what police described as "public disorder and violent riots".

Dozens of smoke grenades and pyrotechnic devices were thrown," Israeli police posted on X, adding "this is not a football game, this is disorder and serious violence".

Twelve civilians and three officers were injured, police said, while nine people were arrested and 16 detained for questioning.”

It seems the decision had been vindicated.

Maremia

Exactly Rosie. Not just 'vandalism'.
Really serious consequences. All must be considered.

All must be considered. I agree, It's just really surprising that the inconvenience, vandalism etc has never been a consideration when it's come to the constant protest marches/road blocking etc in London. It's almost like Londoners are to be disregarded in a manner that doesn't apply to any other group. Londoners must only be counted when to do so is to point out any perceived advantage they enjoy.

bmacca

These are the hooligans that many want to let loose in Birmingham, claiming antisemitism if they are banned:

The derby match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv has been abandoned before kick-off today after serious fan unrest, smoke grenades, stones thrown and several police officers and civilians wounded with many arrests.

I wasn’t sure where I stood on this, in fact I was inclined to think the ban should be lifted, until I saw the reports about this.

It does look like the police made the right call.

escaped

But why should Villa have to change its match location? The Home team is always considered to have a significant advantage over the visiting team.

It could be in a third place, but wouldn't the problems be just the same?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ylxn8g2y2o

Think I will leave this thread!

I dont know what the answer is.

I think you have a point.

Guessing that something is antisemitism is not good enough.
The PM and others need to be sure.
Perhaps they are?

I think it is worthwhile addressing why a club known to have a bad rep when it comes to football hooliganism, not just in Amsterdam but in Athens and elsewhere, has resulted in cries of antisemitism even from the PM. This is causing a potentially inflammatory situation to become even worse. Surely the police are allowed to make the right call based upon intel they have about these fans, without having to deal with the heightened emotions of those who really don’t seem to have much idea what this is really all about. Not antisemitism but just good old fashioned football hooliganism.
The PM and media reporting were way off beam with this one.

These are the hooligans that many want to let loose in Birmingham, claiming antisemitism if they are banned:

The derby match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv has been abandoned before kick-off today after serious fan unrest, smoke grenades, stones thrown and several police officers and civilians wounded with many arrests.

Yes safety is key
It’s managed well at many matches. This one needs fans kept separate. It happens at some, fans kept together and bussed to the stadium, bussed back end of match