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The controversial decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending their Europa League clash against Aston Villa in Birmingham last month has been staunchly defended by West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford.
Appearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee today, Guildford maintained that the move, which sparked accusations of caving into Islamist thugs, was based on dire warnings from Dutch police about the Israeli club's ultras' propensity for violencereports the Daily Mail.
Guildford told MPs that the decision by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (Sag) to prohibit Maccabi fans from the match was partly informed by intelligence from their counterparts in Amsterdam, who were "unequivocal" in their desire never to host the Israeli club again due to the behavior of their "very well organised, militaristic" Ultras.
The West Midlands Police chief recounted the Dutch police's account of Maccabi fans' alleged actions in Amsterdam, including attacking local taxi drivers, tearing down flags, throwing people into the river, and singing inflammatory songs.
Guildford emphasized that the Ultras "specifically targeted the local Muslim community deliberately," prompting a reaction from the wider Muslim community who "attacked Maccabi fans on match day both before the match and after."
Israeli embassy slams 'profoundly misleading' allegations
However, the Israeli embassy in London has vehemently disputed the accuracy of the intelligence used by West Midlands Police, accusing the force of relying on "disproven allegations" that are "profoundly misleading, extremely troubling, and risks inflaming tensions."
In a scathing letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the embassy's charge d'affaires, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, lambasted the decision as exemplifying "a systematic approach that fails to deal with the real issue – the threat from radical, racially motivated Islamist groups, and shows once again a difference in the treatment of Israeli and Jewish people."
Dutch police refute claims, but WMP stands firm
Reports over the weekend suggested that the West Midlands Police intelligence report contained claims that were not recognized by Dutch police, including allegations of Maccabi fans throwing members of the public into the river and up to 600 supporters targeting Muslim communities in Amsterdam.
Despite the Dutch police's apparent denial of these claims, Chief Constable Guildford remained steadfast in his defense of the fan ban, insisting that the decision "wasn't taken lightly" and that the force had taken a "careful approach" without "making anything fit."
Antisemitism adviser 'struggles' with police evidence
Lord Mann, the government's independent adviser on antisemitism, expressed his own reservations about the police's handling of the situation, telling the Home Affairs Committee that he "struggled" with some "inaccurate" details provided by the force, particularly regarding the conflation of different incidents surrounding the Ajax fixture in Amsterdam.
Manchester synagogue attack hero condemns fan ban
Among the vocal critics of the Maccabi fan ban was Yoni Finlay, a survivor of the Manchester synagogue attacks who was accidentally shot by police while worshippers barricaded the doors against knifeman Jihad al-Shamie.
Finlay, a Manchester United fan, decried the notion that "Jewish people can't go to a certain area in England" in 2025, arguing that the answer lies not in "putting up more walls" or hiding "further behind the gates," but in tackling the root cause of antisemitism and refusing to normalise it, with the government playing a crucial role in effecting real change.
Mr Finlay is opposed to pushing Jews behind even stronger security measures. He said: "The answer isn't to keep putting up more walls and we go further behind the gates. We're not tackling the root cause of it. There has to be real change. We have to stop normalising anti-Semitism, and the government does play a part in it."
As the heated debate surrounding the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban rages on, the incident has once again brought to the fore the complex interplay between security concerns, allegations of discrimination, and the need to confront the scourge of antisemitism head-on in modern Britain.