Eleven arrests during protests prior to Aston Villa’s match against Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli supporters demonstrated outside the politically charged Europa League match between Aston Villa and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday. Police made eleven arrests, but the match was played without major disruptions.

The match, which the hosts won 2-0, at Villa Park, Birmingham, was held under a huge security operation.

According to West Midlands Police, 11 people, all men, were arrested, the majority for racially aggravated public offences.

Other arrests included a 21-year-old who tried to throw fireworks into the ground. Another was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs, alongside a 21-year-old for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask and a 17-year-old for failing to comply with a dispersal order.

MORE DETAILS | Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0

Despite fears of violent clashes after the match was classified as ‘high risk’, protests remained largely peaceful after police deployed more than 700 officers in central Birmingham, which has a large Muslim population, and around the stadium.

About 200 pro-Palestinian protesters waved flags, some chanting anti-Israel slogans.

A smaller pro-Israel counter-protest of about 40 people carried signs reading «Keep anti-Semitism out of football» and «No tolerance for hatred of Jews.» A woman holding up an Israeli flag was led away by police.

Bags of fans briefly clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters shortly before kick-off but were separated by police.

The atmosphere in the stadium was relatively quiet, with large areas of empty seats.

With Israeli sports teams at the center of pro-Palestinian protests during the Gaza conflict and Villa initially saying fans would be excluded on police advice, Maccabi reluctantly chose not to accept tickets for visiting supporters.

Police told Sky News on Thursday that they have banned Maccabi fans due to «significant levels of hooliganism» among the fan base, endangering security around the match – rather than threats to visiting Israelis.

«I am aware that there has been a lot of commentary on the threat to Maccabi fans as the reason for the decision. To be clear, that was not the main driver. That was a consideration,» West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Tom Joyce told Sky.

“We have intelligence and information that says there is a section of Maccabi fans, not all Maccabi fans, but a section that engages in quite significant levels of hooliganism.”

PAST VIOLENCE

Last November, more than sixty people were arrested in Amsterdam after clashes surrounding a match between Maccabi and Ajax.

Police said anti-Israel gangs on scooters chased and beat Maccabi fans. Five people were treated in hospital.

Video verified by Reuters showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans in the days before the match. Police said Maccabi supporters burned a Palestinian flag, tore down another and vandalized a taxi. The mayor later said she would no longer receive Maccabi.

Published on November 7, 2025