Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept Villa tickets

Israeli nine Maccabi Tel Aviv opportunity they will not judge immoderate summons allocation from Aston Villa should nan determination to prohibition their supporters from adjacent month's Europa League lucifer beryllium overturned.

Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) - nan assemblage responsible for issuing information certificates for matches - past week informed Villa nary travelling fans would beryllium permitted astatine nan lucifer successful nan city.

The determination was wide condemned, pinch Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy pledging that nan authorities will "find nan resources" to let Maccabi fans to be earlier connected Monday.

But Maccabi Tel Aviv now opportunity supporters will not recreation for information reasons - that "a toxic ambiance has been created which makes nan information of our fans wishing to be very overmuch successful doubt".

A club connection said, external: "The wellbeing and information of our fans is paramount, and from difficult lessons learned we person taken nan determination to diminution immoderate allocation offered connected behalf of distant fans and our determination should beryllium understood successful that context.

"We dream that circumstances will alteration and look guardant to being capable to play successful Birmingham successful a sporting situation successful nan adjacent future."

"We are profoundly saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv person turned down their distant instrumentality allocation but we respect their correct to do so," a authorities spokesperson said.

They added it was "completely unacceptable" that nan lucifer has been "weaponised to stoke unit and fearfulness by those who activity to disagreement us".

"The authorities has been moving astir nan timepiece to take sides a basal rule - that shot fans should beryllium capable to bask a crippled without fearfulness of intimidation aliases violence."

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified nan fixture arsenic "high risk" based connected existent intelligence and erstwhile incidents, including "violent clashes and dislike crime offences" betwixt Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans earlier a lucifer successful Amsterdam, successful November 2024.

Nandy said ministers were moving together to money immoderate basal policing cognition to let distant fans to attend, and nan SAG would reappraisal nan determination if West Midlands Police changed its consequence assessment.

Nandy said nan matter was wider than matchday security, adding it came "against nan backdrop of rising antisemitism present and crossed nan world, and an onslaught connected a synagogue successful Manchester successful which 2 guiltless men were killed".

On Sunday, nan Israeli Premier League derby betwixt Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled earlier kick-off, aft what constabulary described arsenic "public upset and convulsive riots".

Maccabi opportunity nan determination to telephone that crippled disconnected was not down to their supporters and thanked nan UK authorities for its efforts.

They said: "We judge that shot should beryllium astir bringing group together not driving them apart.

"Our fans regularly recreation each complete Europe without incident and to propose that nan logic our fans cannot beryllium allowed to recreation is owed to their behaviour is an effort to distort reality.

"We admit nan efforts of nan UK authorities and constabulary to guarantee some sets of fans tin be nan lucifer safely, and are grateful for nan messages of support from crossed nan footballing community."

Aston Villa antecedently told their matchday stewards they did not person to activity astatine nan Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture, saying they understood immoderate "may person concerns".

Following Thursday's announcement by nan nine astir nan impending fixture, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called nan move "wrong" and said: "We will not tolerate antisemitism connected our streets."