Overview
- Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group barred Maccabi supporters from the November 6 Europa League match after West Midlands Police assessed the fixture as high risk.
- Dutch spokesman Sebastiaan Meijer said his force does not recognise key assertions in the West Midlands report, including claims of 500–600 targeted attacks on Muslims, IDF links for about 200 fans, and a 5,000-officer deployment.
- Amsterdam police said they knew of only one river incident involving a person who appeared to be a Maccabi fan and rejected characterisations of Israeli supporters as organised, skilled fighters.
- West Midlands Police said they met Dutch counterparts on October 1, identified the Maccabi Fanatics subgroup as a credible threat, and cited an October 20 UKFPU/NPCC peer review that endorsed their approach.
- Maccabi Tel Aviv declined an away allocation on safety grounds, protests took place outside Villa Park, and the match was policed by more than 700 officers with roughly 10 arrests recorded.