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Multiple people were arrested at a soccer match in the United Kingdom that involved Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli fans of the team were prohibited from attending the match due to safety concerns, but disturbances still broke out regardless, with anti-Israel protesters in the vicinity.
British police said six people were arrested Thursday ahead of the Israeli team’s match against Aston Villa in a Europa League match.
About 200 protesters gathered near a park near Aston Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand. These protesters included members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, per The Associated Press. Some pro-Israel protesters were also seen.
Palestinian flags and banners, calling for a boycott of Israel, were seen placed on the ground near Trinity Road amid pro-Gaza chants.
West Midlands Police reportedly said a 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, a 17-year-old male was arrested for defying a dispersal order, and three others were arrested for racially aggravated public order offenses and another for breach of the peace.
Police officers briefly formed a cordon to prevent a surge of protesters after an Israeli flag was reportedly waved by a passer-by.
Five 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 French soccer legend Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.
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The tense atmosphere outside the group came after Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group’s decision last month to ban visiting fans from attending the match. The decision was widely criticized, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and prompted Maccabi to say their fans would not travel to the match.
The ban came at a time of heightened worries about antisemitism in Britain following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue earlier this month and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sports boycott of Israel over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
West Midlands Police said it had deemed the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents,” including violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC supporters were reportedly the target of violence in Amsterdam before and during the soccer team’s match against Ajax last year. More than a dozen people have already been charged in connection with the violence, and several have already been convicted after a series of violent overnight incidents.
Pro-Palestine protesters have been a common fixture at Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in 2025.
The match against Aston Villa will be the team’s first away game in the Europa League since pro-Palestinian protests took place at the stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, against PAOK on Sept. 24. About 120 fans of the Israeli club traveled to Greece for that game and were held behind a police cordon before entering the venue.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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