The government is ‘doing everything’ to overturn the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at Aston Villa match

The government said it was “doing everything we can” to overturn the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a football match in Birmingham, and is exploring what additional resources may be required.

On Thursday, Aston Villa said the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) had decided that fans of the Israeli club should not be allowed to attend the Europa League match on November 6 due to safety concerns.

Facing mounting pressure to resolve the situation, the government said it was working with the police and exploring additional resources needed.

The Ministry of Interior said that an advisory committee meeting is expected to be held to discuss the match next week.

Sir Keir Starmer described the move to ban fans from attending as “wrong”, adding “we will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets”, while there was also criticism from leaders of other parties.

Birmingham City Council said SAG – which advises the council on safety certification – would review the decision if West Midlands Police changed its risk assessment of the match.

West Midlands Police said on Thursday they had classified the match as “high risk” based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crimes” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ahead of the match in Amsterdam in November 2024.

The Home Office was made aware of the possibility of restrictions on visiting fans last week, but the BBC understands that officials were not informed of the final decision until Thursday.

Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch said the revelation left Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood with “serious questions that need to be answered” about why her department had done “nothing” to avoid the ban.

She said: “This is a weak government that does not act when needed.”

A source close to Mahmoud told the BBC: “This is not true at all.”

They added: “The first time the Minister of Interior learned about the ban on fans was last night.”