Overview
- The newly published eight-page West Midlands Police report details fears of running street battles in Birmingham if Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attended.
- Dutch police intelligence described organised confrontations in Amsterdam in November 2024 involving Maccabi ‘risk fans,’ targeted hate crimes, deployment of 5,000 officers and emergency extraction flights.
- Officers concluded excluding away supporters was the least risky option after rejecting a behind-closed-doors match on fairness and legal grounds, citing recent European precedents.
- The November 6 match proceeded with the away end closed under a 700-officer operation, with arrests and limited flare-ups but no significant disruption to the game.
- The decision remains politically contentious, with criticism from senior figures including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as Maccabi indicated it would decline any ticket allocation.