Aston Villa have urged supporters not to display political symbols, messages or flags during next month’s Europa League tie at home to Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
With Israel’s participation in international sport under pressure over the Gaza war, the match sparked political controversy after a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) covering Villa Park in Birmingham, last week blocked visiting fans from attending the November 6 match following a police risk assessment.
The decision drew political criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with widespread calls for the ruling to be reversed.
The government said it was “working around the clock” to ensure fans from both clubs could attend but Maccabi announced Monday they would decline any tickets for the clash at Villa Park.
On Tuesday, Villa warned fans against contravening protocols issued by UEFA, the governing body of European football, banning the display of political messages inside stadiums.
“As per UEFA guidance, the displaying of political symbols, messages or flags during the match is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate ejection and the issuing of a stadium ban,” the club said in a statement.
The Premier League club added they will not be selling tickets for the vacant away end and have warned supporters against reselling their tickets.
The UK government had been expecting police to this week set out their needs to oversee the game with both sets of supporters present.
But Maccabi said late Monday it would not accept any tickets for the match.
“The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount and from hard lessons learned, we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” said a Maccabi statement.
The announcement came only a day after Israeli police called off the Israeli Premier League match between Maccabi and city rivals Hapoel because of “riots” between rival fans.
Maccabi insisted their supporters were not involved in the unrest, while their statement questioned the motivation of those leading calls for a ban on away supporters at Villa Park.
“Our fans regularly travel all over Europe without incident and to suggest that the reason our fans cannot be allowed to travel is due to their behavior (sic) is an attempt to distort reality and to excuse the real underlying reasons for the decision to ban our fans.”
Starmer’s spokesman said the government was still talking to police about putting extra resources in place for the match so both sets of fans could attend.
Birmingham has been the scene of pro-Palestinian rallies since the Gaza war began in 2023 after the Hamas attack on Israel.
A match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November sparked two days of clashes between locals and Israeli fans.
