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

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.

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.

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

TEL AVIV FOOTBALL DERBY VIOLENCE SHOWS UK BAN ON MACCABI FANS IS CORRECT, SAYS UK MP

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.

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.”

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

ROBBIE KEANE APPOINTED HEAD COACH OF HUNGARIAN CHAMPIONS FERENCVROS

Former Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane has been appointed head coach at Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.

The 44-year-old, who left his role as Maccabi Tel Aviv boss in June having guided the Israeli club to the league title, replaces Pascal Jansen following his departure for New York City FC.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “We announce the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen to lead our 35-time champion and 24-time cup winner team, as the 146-time national team player of the Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane has signed on Monday.

“The new head coach arrived in Budapest on Sunday evening and will leave on Tuesday to join our team at the training camp in Spain.”

Keane scored a record 68 senior international goals during a 19-year playing career which included spells with Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham, LA Galaxy and Aston Villa.

He moved into coaching in 2018 as player-manager at ATK in India and worked as an assistant to Ireland boss Mick McCarthy during his second spell in charge, and later took up a similar role under former Spurs team-mate Jonathan Woodgate at Middlesbrough.

He was part of Sam Allardyce’s staff at Leeds as they unsuccessfully tried to pull off an unlikely escape from Premier League relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season, but was then offered the chance to manage in his own right by Maccabi.

Robbie Keane (left) served as an assistant to Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy (Niall Carson/PA)

Keane guided the Tel Aviv club to a league and cup double and took them to the last 16 in the European Conference League in his one season at the helm.

However, his reign attracted criticism at home in Ireland after he opted to remain in his post following Israel’s military action in Gaza.

Keane, who will be joined in Budapest by assistant coach Rory Delap and analyst Phill Hudson, later said he had stayed on for the sake of his players and staff and revealed he had rejected a lucrative offer to carry on his work.

- Damian Spellman, Pa

MACCABI TEL AVIV VS. PANATHINAIKOS