Telegraph has a focus on one slightly negative comment as usual:
Aston Villa ‘has been tarnished’ by the ban on Israeli fans
Home supporters have condemned the decision to shut out Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from next week’s ‘high-risk’ Europa League fixture
David Wilkes
27 October 2025 5:02pm GMT
Greg Austin and his daughter attending a match at Villa Park
Lifelong supporter Greg Austin, pictured with his daughter Bella, is among many dismayed by the ban on Maccabi fans Credit: Andrew Fox
Under grey skies on a chilly West Midlands afternoon, there was at least something, so it turned out, to brighten Aston Villa fans’ spirits as their beloved team battled its way to a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
But the result did nothing to banish a much darker cloud that has hung over the Birmingham club since the move to ban fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a November 6 Europa League fixture.
Police and council officials have defended the decision, citing safety concerns, but it has been met with widespread condemnation within the sport and from across the political spectrum.
The discontent was plain to see on Sunday as, swathed in their claret and blue colours, the faithful headed to Villa Park for their first home match since the furore erupted.
“It’s a terrible shame,” said lifelong supporter Greg Austin, 44, a sales director, who was attending Sunday’s Premier League clash with his eight-year-old daughter, Bella. “People should just be able to watch a game regardless of their background and the police should be able to make everybody feel safe.”
“I think Villa has been a little bit tarnished by all this but it’s not their fault, the decision was out of their hands.”
‘A political football’
The move to ban Maccabi’s fans was taken by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group, the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, has confirmed that it will not be selling tickets for the away supporters area, meaning that it will be vacant. Visiting teams are typically allocated up to 3,000 tickets at the 43,205-capacity stadium. Last week, it emerged that the club had told match-day stewards they did not have to work the November 6 fixture, saying they understood that some members of staff “may have concerns”.
Fans, it appears, feel differently about the prospect of upholding the ban. “It’s a sad moment when some fans can’t come, but the trouble is the world is in chaos at the moment,” said Dawn Tomkinson, 66, a retired teacher.
Indeed, many of those milling through the streets outside the stadium on Sunday, where souvenir stands were already selling scarves for next week’s match, said they were disappointed their club had become a “political football”.
Tomkinson’s husband, Steve, 72, a retired businessman, said: “I don’t think who goes to a football match should be a political thing. The potential problem isn’t the Maccabi fans coming, as I see it – it’s people coming from all over to protest against them. But I’ll still go to the game.”
Steve and Dawn Tomkinson at Villa Park
Steve and Dawn Tomkinson say politics should not dictate who can attend a match Credit: Andrew Fox
West Midlands Police classified the Maccabi fixture as “high risk” based on “current intelligence and previous incidents” including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Dutch team Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.
After that fixture, the Israeli team’s fans were targeted by an “outburst of violence” which included anti-Semitic attacks. More than 60 people were arrested, with Dutch officials labelling the assaults “shocking and reprehensible”. Ten of those arrested in Amsterdam were Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. Police said a contingent of Israeli fans had torn down a Palestinian flag, vandalised a taxi and chanted anti-Arab songs.
Fears that a repeat of those scenes may play out in Birmingham, where 30 per cent of the population is Muslim and which has been a flashpoint for political unrest over the Israel-Gaza conflict, underpinned the move to ban Maccabi’s fans from Villa Park.
While local pro-Gaza, independent and Green politicians have backed the decision, there has been pushback from Sir Keir Starmer, as well as from the Tories, Reform and the Liberal Democrats.
“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation,” the Prime Minister said earlier this month.
Fears of unrest
The decision has also infuriated Israeli government officials, some of whom have branded it “cowardly”.
Amid the backlash, Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, pledged earlier this month that the Government would “find the resources” to allow Maccabi fans to attend. But Maccabi Tel Aviv have poured cold water over the prospect of a U-turn, saying it will decline any ticket allocation offered to its fans.
In their absence, there are growing concerns that others may seek to exploit the tensions for their own ends. The far-Right activist Tommy Robinson has indicated that he will attend the fixture, as a Maccabi fan, while a local Islamist preacher has urged his followers to “show no mercy” to any supporters of the Israeli club who make the journey to Villa Park.
All of which has left many Villa fans – the Prince of Wales among them – feeling that football is, to paraphrase the old sporting cliché, very much not the winner.
“All this has got nothing to do with football,” said Colin Rowlands, 72, on Sunday. “I’ve been going to Villa games for 50 years and would’ve been happy to see the Maccabi fans coming. I understand the authorities have certain information which has indicated to them there could be serious trouble. But I’m disappointed fans are being shut out.”
Colin Rowlands at Villa Park
Veteran fan Colin Rowlands remains frustrated that travelling supporters are being excluded Credit: Andrew Fox
Some do agree with the ban, however, including Ryan Pitcher, 37, a planning manager. “Public safety has to be the priority. I don’t see it as anti-Semitic,” he said.
Barring away fans from attending a fixture based on safety concerns is rare, but not unprecedented. Last season, Legia Warsaw supporters were denied entry to Villa Park for their Uefa Conference League fixture after four police were injured during clashes with the Polish club’s fans.
Reflecting on the current situation, one Villa fan, who did not wish to be named, said: “The trouble is, because it’s become a national debate, you might get people travelling to protest either for or against the decision. And who’s to say Maccabi won’t travel here anyway and end up roaming about rather than being in a controlled place?”
‘I would have loved to see Israeli fans at Villa Park’
More than 2,300 miles away from Villa Park, Eyal Luzon was following Sunday’s game against Manchester City in Jerusalem, where he lives and works as a supply chain manager at a pharmaceutical company. The 46-year-old became a Villa fan because they were his favourite team in the Fifa 99 video game and from there it “grew into something real”.
He is, unsurprisingly, dismayed by the ban. “As an Israeli, I’m disappointed the Maccabi fans aren’t allowed to attend. I would’ve loved to see Israeli fans at Villa Park,” Luzon said.
Eyal Luzon
Eyal Luzon, who supports Aston Villa from Jerusalem, is saddened that Israeli fans will be absent at Villa Park
“By making this decision, the club was inevitably pulled into one of the most sensitive and divisive political conflicts in the world… which is a shame.
“But I don’t believe there was any anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic motive behind the decision. The main issue seems to be concern for safety. The police feared they wouldn’t be able to fully protect Maccabi fans given the expected protests in Birmingham.”
That, however, is of no consolation to Luzon.
“This is, in fact, what troubles me the most. Do we really want to live in a world where we constantly surrender to threats? Avoiding a problem doesn’t make it go away.”
