At least 11 people were arrested as a series of verbal clashes broke out during a pro-Palestine protest outside Aston Villa’s controversial Europa League match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Villa Park ahead of Thursday night’s tie, which took place without visiting fans after Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group raised public safety concerns.
The demonstrators, including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, gathered outside the stadium’s Trinity Road Stand, with a stage set up for speakers to lead chants against the IDF and in support of Palestinians. They demanded Israel’s domestic football teams be excluded from UEFA competitions.
But despite calls for a peaceful protest, just before the game started at 8pm, there were several verbal clashes between people outside the stadium and those taking part in the demonstration.
As kick-off approached, a pro-Israel protest was penned into a basketball court and playground behind the Doug Ellis Stand, while a far larger pro-Palestine group had formed on Trinity Road, although it was nowhere close to the outlandish 50,000 predicted by one organiser earlier this week.
By late morning, their posters and banners were being attached to lamp posts, with Villa staff moving quickly to demand that one reading “Boycott Israel” be removed from the ground’s gates.
The messages of “Shooting babies in Gaza, playing games in Birmingham” and “Give Zionism the red card” remained attached to public property outside. Reminders of this being a peaceful demonstration were mixed with inflammatory chants of “From the river to the sea” and “Death to the IDF.”
Local independent MP Ayoub Khan was among those to give an address. “When you see the images of children being massacred, when you understand that more than 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza, then you will understand the moral argument: that if we can ban Russian football teams, then the right moral stance is you ban any Israeli team from participating,” he told the crowd, before conveying his wish that Villa defeat their visitors by a significant margin. That was met by the loudest cheer, with many passing matchgoers joining in.
Not every Villa fan was comfortable with their presence, however, and a line of police on horseback intervened when a small group of supporters began chanting Tommy Robinson’s name close to the 8pm kick-off. Earlier, when one woman, in her twenties, stood with the flag of Israel stretched out, she was met by a predictable verbal reaction before being escorted away for her own safety.
With more than 700 officers on duty as part of the major operation, West Midlands Police quickly intervened in each face-off, moving groups of people along and pushing the protesters away from stadium entrances.
The atmosphere calmed after the game started, but at half-time, with Villa fans coming out into the concourse, some confronted the protesters through a metal fence. Police again quickly moved the groups apart, before later ensuring that supporters and remaining demonstrators, who decided to stay on after the protest was called to an end at 8.30pm, were kept separated at the end of the match.
The force said a 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, while another 21-year-old was arrested after trying to throw fireworks into the ground. A 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a dispersal order, and a man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs. Five men were arrested for racially aggravated public order offences, one for breach of the peace.
Protest steward Naveed Sadiq said: “It’s unfortunate there were some skirmishes, but when you have a protest of this size, and so many people attending the game, I’m afraid you get the minority and these things happen.
“Overall, I’m pleased with how the protest has gone. I feel like we got our show of support for Palestine across tonight, while pushing our point that Maccabi Tel Aviv should not be in this competition, given what’s happened in Gaza.”
Ali Abbas, of the West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “The game should have been cancelled to begin with, and then there would not have been this situation. You have seen here the strength of feeling against it here locally tonight.”
Many people attending the protest waved Palestinian flags and brandished placards, some reading “Stop arming Israel” and “Stop starving Gaza”.
Five flatbed vehicles were driven past the ground prior to kick-off, carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism. One of the messages, beside a Star of David, read “Ban hatred not fans”, while another carried a quote from Thierry Henry, saying that football is not about goals but about bringing people together.
One Villa supporter, Adam Selway, said that while he was not making any political statement, he felt sympathy with the fans who were unable to attend and simply wanted to watch a football match. “It’s not about politics, it’s about football,” he said. “It’s not the Villa fans that don’t want anyone here – the Villa fans want the away fans here.”
Maccabi announced it would decline any away tickets for the match after the government said it was “working around the clock” to ensure that fans from both sides could attend.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had called for the ban on away fans to be overturned, saying it was “the wrong decision”.
