West Midlands police chief defends Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban

The chief constable of West Midlands Police said the force “hasn’t failed anybody” as he defended the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from next month’s fixture with Aston Villa.

The announcement by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to stop travelling fans attending the Europa League fixture on 6 November on safety grounds was widely condemned by politicians including the prime minister.

The government said it would fund any necessary policing operation to allow Maccabi’s fans to attend before the Israeli club said it would decline their ticket allocation anyway because of a “toxic atmosphere”.

But Chief Constable Craig Guildford said on Wednesday he respected the decision, which was based on intelligence, and said: “Birmingham hasn’t failed anybody and neither has West Midlands Police.”

Birmingham’s SAG, which is the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches and made up of police, Birmingham City Council, fire and ambulance services, informed Villa no travelling fans would be permitted at the match last week.

But Mr Guildford said that despite “good support” from the government, officers had professionally considered the risk and provided advice.

“I’ve read some of the intelligence that’s been received and the assessment that’s been made,” he added. “It’s based on professional judgement.”

Risk assessments that led to the ban have not been made public, but The Guardian has claimed police concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club.

Mr Guildford added his force would “continue” to provide advice to the SAG, and respect decisions made by the group.

“Decisions have to be respected if they are made,” he said.

“They are made with good, grounded understanding of the threat and what the risk is. Our job as the police is to try and keep everyone safe.”

Mr Guildford rejected suggestions that community confidence in the force had been impacted by the decision to ban away fans.

“We try our level best from me all the way down in the organisation to make sure we give the community confidence,” he explained.

“We get lots of feedback around how reassuring our approach has been in certain communities. We will never, ever, please everyone.”

On Sunday, an Israeli Premier League derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled before kick-off on Sunday, after what police described as “public disorder and violent riots”.

Villa have now announced their ticketing policy for the match, insisting that only supporters with a purchase history prior to this season will be able to access a ticket.

The Israeli embassy in the UK said it was “deeply concerned by the hostility and incitement” that led to Maccabi withdrawing their away ticket allocation.

In a statement, Birmingham City Council said on Wednesday: “The Safety Advisory Group has provided advice to Aston Villa Football Club based on a risk assessment provided by West Midlands Police.

“If there is a change in the assessment of risk in the forthcoming match, then the Safety Advisory Group will commit to review its decision as appropriate.”