Police did not mean to imply Jewish community supported Tel Aviv fan ban, force says

According to the police, a West Midlands Police chief did not mean to say that members of the Jewish community had agreed with the exclusion of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from a football match in Birmingham. When asked repeatedly by MPs on Monday if representatives of the Jewish faith had said they did not want Maccabi supporters to attend the Europa League match against Aston Villa on Friday, West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara said

yes. According to the Sunday Times, he had since written a letter to members of the Jewish faith apologising for his apology. The decision to exclude fans of Villa Park was widely condemned, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

angered by the decision.

Based on intelligence and previous incidents, West Midlands police had rated the match as a high risk. When asked about the Home Affairs Committee's decision on Monday, ACC O'Hara said that some Jewish community leaders in Birmingham had stated that they did not want MACCabi supporters attending the match.

Were members of the communities who said they did not want the Maccabi supporters there and did not include any Jewish representatives,

the Maccasi supporters. Karen Bradley, the committee's chair, asked.Yes,ACC O'Hara responded. Bradley wondered again ifthere were Jewish community leaders who said they did not want the MACCabi supporters thereand ACC O'Hara said thata variety of faiths, origins, and ethnicities were among the many faiths. were very concerned

. Asked again if this included Jewish people, he said yes and added that it had been documented in the force's risk analysis.

It was never the officer's intention to suggest that there were members of the Jewish synagogue who had explicitly voiced their condemnation of Maccabi supporters,a police spokesperson said.The force is looking forward to more involvement with the committee,the group said, andwill ensure that this is clearly stated as it has been with representatives of the Jewish community.

We acknowledge that this has been a difficult time for our local Jewish synagogue,

they said.

We also know that this is a challenging time for us,

they continued to actively participate.

I am aware that there is some resentment within the local Jewish community about what I presented on Monday,

ACC O'Hara wrote in a letter seen by the Sunday Times.

A number of questions were asked, some with multiple parts and secondary points,

the author said. Please allow me to apologize and make it clear that it was not my intention to suggest that there were people of the Jewish faith who had formally voiced support for Maccabi supporters' removal. Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (Sag), a panel that includes Birmingham City Council and the police, had a vote to ban away fans partly based on police intelligence.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said the police report was mainly based on reports provided to the department by Dutch police chiefs ahead of the game.

The Dutch reports were very concrete in terms of how they reflected on the days leading up to, during, and after the match as a result of rivalry between the Maccabi ultras and the local Muslim community,

Chief Constable Guildford said.

The ultras were very well organized and militaristic in the way they operated, according to what we were told. They assaulted members of the local community, including taxi drivers. Tore down flags. People were thrown into the river.

However, Dutch police said the police justified the ban by using false information about Maccabi fans attending a game in Amsterdam last year,

the Sunday Times had previously reported. Lord Mann, the government's independent advisor on antisemitism, told the Home Affairs Committee that only one flag had been torn down the night before the game, and that only a single incident involving a taxi driver was reported. The prime minister slammed the move, saying

We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets" and that the job of police is to ensure that all football fans enjoy the game without fear of violence or coercion. The match against Aston Villa, which was reportedly defended by more than 700 police officers, ended without a single arrest and no serious violence. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters and a select group of pro Israeli demonstrators gathered outside the stadium, waving banners and flags before the game.