Showing posts with label Birmingham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birmingham. Show all posts
Monday, 17 August 2026
Saturday, 15 August 2026
Sunday, 1 February 2026
Thursday, 13 November 2025
Friday, 7 November 2025
ASTON VILLA V MACCABI TEL AVIV POLICE ISSUE MAJOR UPDATE AFTER NIGHT OF PROTESTS
Missiles were allegedly thrown at West Midlands Police officers near Villa Park last night where Aston Villa played Maccabi Tel Aviv, a match to which away supporters were banned
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| Police officers escort a woman with an Israeli flag away from Pro-Palestinian protesters outside Villa Park(Image: AFP via Getty Images) |
Eleven people — including a child — were arrested last night following protests around Villa Park where Aston Villa played Maccabi Tel Aviv, police confirmed.
West Midlands Constabulary said in its latest update the suspects were mostly detained for racism offences near the ground, which hosted the Europa League clash.
Around 200 protesters — including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, gathered near Villa Park's Trinity Road Stand — before the match to demand Israel is excluded from international football. Palestinian flags and banners calling for a boycott of Israel were placed on the ground beside Trinity Road amid pro-Palestinian chants.
But eleven people were arrested amid the tensions, including a 17-year-old boy who police say was issued with a dispersal order but refused to leave. A 21-year-old man tried to throw fireworks into the ground, West Midlands Constabulary added. It was also reported missiles were thrown at officers.
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| Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside the stadium in Birmingham(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) |
Hundreds of extra officers were on duty in Birmingham on Thursday night. Chief Supt Tom Joyce, Birmingham Police Commander, said: "Our officers are being supported by officers from up and down the country as part of mutual aid. This has definitely been one of the most contentious and controversial matches we've hosted for some time, but our priority, really clearly, is public safety."
Five flatbed vehicles were driven past the ground prior to kick-off carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.
One of the messages, beside a Star of David, read "Ban hatred not fans" while another carried a quote from Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.
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| Hundreds of extra police officers were on duty to cover the demonstrations(Image: Getty Images) |
But while violence did not happen, confrontations occurred and police made the 11 arrests. These were;
- A 63-year-old man arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence after he was heard shouting racist abuse during a road rage incident near Villa Park
- A 21-year-old man arrested after refusing to remove a face covering while a Section 60 order was in place
- A 17-year-old who was issued with a dispersal order but refused to leave
- A 34-year-old arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after shouting abuse towards pro-Israel demonstrators
- A 29-year-old man arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after shouting abuse towards pro-Israel demonstrators. He was also arrested for possession of class B drugs
- A 67-year-old man arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after shouting racist abuse at a police officer
- A 32-year-old man arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after shouting racist abuse towards a pro-Palestine group
- A man aged 21 arrested after trying to throw fireworks into the ground
- A man arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs.
West Midlands Police stress it understands the right to protests but had to ensure members of the public in and around Villa Park were safe. Unai Emery's side, currently bottom half of the Premier League, laboured to a 2-0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Bradley Jolly
Monday, 20 October 2025
TEL AVIV FOOTBALL DERBY VIOLENCE SHOWS UK BAN ON MACCABI FANS IS CORRECT, SAYS UK MP
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| The derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled before kick-off on Sunday, after what police described as 'public |
Supporters of Israeli club are barred from Birmingham tie next month over hooliganism fears
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a Europa League match in England has been proven correct after football hooligans forced the abandonment of the Israeli team’s city derby, a British MP has said.
Maccabi’s match against Hapoel Tel Aviv was called off by police on Sunday night, just before kick off, as fans threw smoke grenades and pyrotechnic devices. The incident injured three officers and 12 civilians.
It has reignited debate over a decision to ban Maccabi supporters, who were implicated in violence in Amsterdam last year, at the match with Aston Villa in Birmingham next month.
Independent Muslim MP Ayoub Khan, whose constituency is in Birmingham and who led a petition calling for the Israeli side's fans to be barred from the match, said the ban was about safety concerns, not Israeli politics or religion. He said “hooligans, people who show no mercy”, followed the club.
“Shame on all those disgraceful politicians and news anchors that conflated this matter,” he said on X. “It was never about religion but everything to do about hooligans. These hooligans are not welcome in my constituency.”
The latest violence took place at Bloomfield Stadium, which is shared by the Tel Aviv rivals. The stadium was evacuated, with police on horseback intervening to control the 30,000 fans.
Nine Maccabi supporters were arrested and Israeli police called for the game to be postponed owing to “risks to human life”, with officers hurt in “serious violence”.
“Disorderly conduct, riots, injured police officers and damage to infrastructure – this is not a football game, this is a breach of order and serious violence,” Tel Aviv police said in a statement on X.
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| Police on horseback intervened after crowd trouble before the match. |
As a result of the violence, British police are now “reaching out” to their Israeli counterparts “to gain an understanding on what happened at last night's match in Tel Aviv,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s deputy spokesman told journalists on Monday.
“We recognise the concerns raised by police due to previous incidents in Europe,” he added.
The violence is poorly timed for Maccabi fans, who hope that the ban will on them travelling to the Europa League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham on November 6 will be lifted.
The decision caused a political storm on Friday, with Mr Starmer intervening to say the move was “wrong”.
He suggested it was anti-Semitic, a claim echoed by other senior figures, even though the ban followed the standard decision-making procedure for all large-scale events.
Birmingham’s safety advisory group, which includes police and local organisations, stated that its decision was due to the high risk of violence and based on “current intelligence and previous incidents”.
UK Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson said on Monday that it was “unacceptable” for away fans to be barred from the Birmingham fixture “for the reasons that have been cited”.
“We think it is very difficult to justify and very difficult to accept and that football fans shouldn’t be unable to attend games for fear of what that might cause more widely,” she told Sky News.
Asked what ministers could do to overturn the ban, she said: “The government will do what we can to ensure that the relevant authorities have got the resources they need … we will provide what is necessary alongside the other relevant authorities in order to ensure that fans can attend.
“I think it’s unacceptable to have ended up in a position where away fans are unable to attend for the reasons that have been cited and therefore we have a role to play, but other relevant authorities in the West Midlands will also be taking this into account.”
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| Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv will face each other in Birmingham in the Europa League next month. AFP |
Hapoel fury
Hapoel's management was infuriated by the decision to abandon the derby and the tactics used by police. “From the preliminary discussions before the game, it seemed that the police were preparing for a war rather than a sports event,” the club said in a statement on social media. “Everyone saw the harsh videos, children trampled by horses, police officers beating fans indiscriminately.”
It accused police of taking over the sport and called for football authorities to regain control.
Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid also seized on the incident to criticise the country's far-right Minister of National Security. “To the endless list of failures of the incompetent minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, tonight was added the inability to facilitate a football game in the state of Israel,” Mr Lapid said on social media.
Amsterdam attacks
The Stand up to Racism Birmingham group said next month’s ban was “the correct decision” because the Maccabi fans were “likely to create a dangerous environment in the city”.
“When Maccabi played in Amsterdam and other places thousands of their fans rampaged through the city chanting ‘death to Arabs’,” a representative for the group said.
“They also chanted, ‘Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left.' They attacked people and caused extensive damage.”
The representative added that Maccabi fans caused trouble at previous matches in Greece and Cyprus and called them a “fanatical racist group intent on spreading hatred and division”.
But the British government, whose relations with Israel have plummeted in recent months over the situation in Gaza, appears intent on having the Aston Villa match ban overturned.
A decision on the Maccabi fans being allowed in will be made in the coming days by West Midlands police. But Downing Street made clear that it wanted them in and was working with the force “to ensure this game can safely go ahead with all fans present”.
“We're exploring what additional resources and support are required so all fans can attend,” Mr Starmer's spokesman added.
- Thomas Harding
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
Friday, 3 January 2025
USA JUNIOR SQUASH TEAM | BRITISH JUNIOR OPEN 2025 | BIRMINGHAM, UK
US Jr Squash Team- comprising of the best 58 outstanding junior players (selected from a pool of 2200 US junior players) who will be participating in the British Junior Open ‘25 (The World Cup of Junior Squash) in Birmingham 🏴.
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
HOCKEY, DIVING AND CRICKET AMONG SPORTS REMOVED AXED FOR 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Hockey, rugby sevens and diving are among the big-name Commonwealth Games casualties, axed from the pared-back Glasgow program in 2026.
The Games, relocated to Scotland after Victoria's withdrawal as host, will feature just 10 events, which is nine less than the previous edition held in 2022 in Birmingham.
Other sports to be left out include cricket, badminton, beach volleyball, mountain biking, rhythmic gymnastics, squash and table tennis.
Athletics and swimming were the only sports guaranteed a spot on the program, which also includes track cycling, weightlifting, 3x3 basketball and lawns bowls -- all of which include a para equivalent.
Netball, artistic gymnastics, judo and boxing round out the chosen 10.
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| Multiple sports including Hockey have been dropped from the Commonwealth games. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images |
As a cost-saving measure, the 10 sports will be spread across just four venues -- Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena and the Scottish Event Campus.
Athletes and support staff will stay in hotel accommodation rather than an athletes village.
The 2026 program will be officially released later on Wednesday.
The multi-sport event had been endangered since the government of Victoria pulled out as host last year, citing spiralling costs, which, it claimed, had blown the budget out to $6 billion.
Victoria paid $380 million in compensation to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), of which $200 million will be directed to Scotland to cover its hosting costs.
That figure will be topped up by $4.5 million from Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) to cover security, with neither the UK nor Scottish governments prepared to use public money -- though the former is said to be prepared to underwrite any additional security costs.
"This is a fantastic outcome for the Commonwealth sport movement," CGA president Ben Houston said last month.
"The Commonwealth Games are at the heart of Australia's performance pathway, often providing the launch pad for continued and ongoing success by Australian athletes.
"They are irreplaceable in terms of providing global competition and, in the absence of an Australian host, it was in the interests of Australian sport that we make an overseas Games a reality."
- AAP
Friday, 5 January 2024
TEAM USA PRODUCES RECORD SIXTEEN BRITISH JUNIOR OPEN QUARTERFINALISTS
Team USA has made history by producing sixteen British Junior Open quarterfinalists–topping a previous best of fifteen last year–after two days of play in Birmingham, England.
The U.S. contingent enjoyed a strong start to the tournament with thirty-five of fifty-four players reaching the round of sixteen over the first two days of play, January 3-4.
Carter Macdougall (BU11), Henry Urbanek (BU13), Akaisha Bhatia (GU15), Trinity Moshi (GU15), Hart Robertson (BU17) and Avery Park (GU19) all upset higher seeds to reach the round of sixteen in the first round of play Thursday.
Team USA will have quarterfinal representation in all but one division. [9/16] seed Isabella Tang pulled off the highest seeded upset of the day with a four-game round of sixteen win over England’s 3/4 seed Mariam Essa. [9/16] seed Jack Elriani defeated Belgium’s [5/8] seed Maddox Moxham in four games to reach the quarterfinals.
Wednesday, 3 January 2024
WAYNE ROONEY FIRED AS MANAGER AFTER 15 GAMES AT SECOND-TIER BIRMINGHAM
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| AP |
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — England great Wayne Rooney was fired as the manager of second-tier club Birmingham on Tuesday after 15 games.
Rooney earned only two wins since his controversial appointment in October. Birmingham was sixth in the Championship when he started, and has fallen to 20th.
The club was taken over last summer by a company owned by American businessman Tom Wagner, and it got rid of popular coach John Eustace, who had been in charge for 15 months and steered the club away from relegation.
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