British Home Secretary Shabana Mohamud said on Friday that the government is doing everything in its power to ensure that fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club attend Aston Villa’s match in Birmingham next month.
The minister wrote on the
She added: “The government is striving to ensure that all fans attend the match safely,” Reuters reported.
“The government is working with the police and other partners to do everything we can to ensure this match can be held safely, with all fans in attendance,” a government spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
For its part, English club Aston Villa said that fans of the visiting team will be prevented from attending the Europa League match scheduled for November 6 after West Midlands Police expressed concerns about public security from potential demonstrators outside the stadium.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described this as “disgraceful.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on the
On Thursday, the Jewish Leadership Council in Britain criticized the decision to prevent fans from traveling to Birmingham, the stronghold of Aston Villa, to support their team.
In a post on the “X” platform, the Council considered the decision “strange,” calling for the host club to bear the consequences of the decision. It also requested that the match be held without an audience if Maccabi fans were prevented from attending.
On the other hand, the “Palestine Solidarity Campaign” on the “X” platform called for canceling the match, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, and stressing “the necessity of preventing Israeli teams from participating in European competitions,” according to what the British “Sky News” network reported.
