Even if the exclusion of visiting fans for the game at Aston Villa is lifted, Maccabi Tel Aviv will not give tickets to its supporters. This was announced by the Israeli football club, whose derby was canceled due to riots.
“The well-being and safety of our fans is our top priority. Due to difficult experiences, we have decided to reject any allocation of tickets to away fans. Our decision must be understood in this context.”the club announced with a view to the Europa League game on November 5th at Aston Villa.
Last week, the Security Advisory Group (SAG), responsible for issuing safety certificates for every game at Birmingham’s Villa Park, told clubs and the European Football Union UEFA that no away fans would be allowed.
Exclusion due to Safety concerns
The West Midlands Police have concerns about public safety outside the stadium as possible protests are expected.
Maccabi appreciates ‘UK government’s efforts’
There was then a lot of criticism, including for Great Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer “wrong decision”.
UEFA referred to the responsibility of the local authorities. “We commend the efforts of the UK government and police to ensure both groups of fans could attend the game safely and are grateful for the messages of support from across the football community and society.”Maccabi now announced.
Riots before the game against Hapoel lead to cancellation
The city derby between Maccabi and city rival Hapoel Tel Aviv had to be canceled recently after serious riots “hasty to our fans” been attributed, the statement says: “It is clear that various established groups wish to denigrate the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan base – most of whom have no involvement in racism or hooliganism of any kind – and exploit individual incidents for their own social and political purposes.”
Be it “A poisonous atmosphere has been created that seriously questions the safety of our fans who want to visit the stadium.”
Parts of Maccabi’s fan scene are considered right-wing conservative to right-wing extremist. In November 2024 there were riots at a game between the Israeli club and Ajax Amsterdam. During the investigation it turned out that the aggression also came from Maccabi fans. Ultras burned a Palestinian flag and marched through the city with provocative slogans, a Middle East expert reported on Deutschlandfunk.
In football, but also in other sports, there have been repeated pro-Palestinian protests at sporting events with Israeli participation. The background is the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. Even after the agreement between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas on a ceasefire, things have not completely calmed down.