Senior Government figures will meet on Friday to “see if there’s a way through” a ban on Israeli fans attending a football match in Birmingham, a minister has said.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Home Office officials will be among those meeting in a bid to reverse the decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending next month’s match against Aston Villa, Ian Murray said.
The minister, whose brief covers the Government’s culture and science departments, echoed the words of Sir Keir Starmer, who on Thursday night criticised the decision by Birmingham’s safety advisory group as “wrong”.
Mr Murray told Sky News: “The Prime Minister and the Government have been clear about that.
“In fact, pretty much every politician has been clear about that.”
He added: “It’s just completely and utterly unacceptable, and the Prime Minister has said we will do everything we possibly can to resolve this issue.
“It’s an operational issue for the police, and Government doesn’t get involved in operational issues for the police.
“But I know the Culture Secretary of State (Ms Nandy) will be meeting with the Home Office and other stakeholders today to try and see if there’s a way through this.”
Mr Murray later told BBC Breakfast the decision sends the “wrong message” that “you will be banned from going to public events if you’re of the wrong race, religion or creed”.
West Midlands Police have said they had classified the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.
Violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans erupted around the Uefa Europa League football match between Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv last year.
Five men were given prison sentences and more than 60 people were detained in the riots, which prompted accusations of deliberate antisemitic attacks.
Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villans supporters’ club, said the decision to ban fans of the Israeli side is “a political message rather than a safety message”.
The retired British Army major told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s no evidence of Maccabi’s fans being particularly violent.
“They don’t have a track record in all of their previous European games of having a violent fan group.”
Uefa, which runs the Europa League, urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could attend the match in Birmingham.
In a statement, it said: “Uefa wants fans to be able to travel and support their team in a safe, secure and welcoming environment, and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow this to happen.”
On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister condemned the decision, writing on X: “This is the wrong decision.
“We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.
“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Only earlier the same day, Sir Keir had announced new measures to stamp out antisemitism – including an NHS review – while visiting the Community Security Trust, which provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK.
He was joined by other political leaders in condemning the ban, including Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who branded it a “national disgrace”.
