Six arrested during protests outside match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv

Six people were arrested during protests outside Villa Park on Thursday after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned on safety grounds from attending the Europa League match, sparking intense controversy.

A large Pro-Palestine demonstration took place in the shadow of Aston Villa’s stadium, with protesters calling for the match to be cancelled and for Israeli teams to be banned from international football.

A smaller counter-demonstration took place at the away end of the stadium to oppose the ban and to “stand in solidarity with Maccabi fans”. As they made their way to the stadium, officers directed them to hold their protest in a caged basketball court.

More than 700 police officers were in attendance, along with police dogs, police horses and a drone unit. A Section 60 was also in place in parts of Birmingham, allowing officers to stop and search without the need to have reasonable grounds.

West Midlands police said three people were arrested for racially aggravated offences and one for a breach of the peace. A man, 21, was also arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask and a teenage boy, 17, for failing to comply with a dispersal order.

The pro-Palestine protest outside Aston Villa stadium drew large numbers, with speakers including local independent MP Ayoub Khan, who told demonstrators: “We will continue in our plight and in our fight to support the Palestinians who are being massacred.”

Signs were also put up around the stadium which read: “No war games allowed. Zionists not welcome.” In videos posted online, protesters are heard chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Death to the IDF”.

The Guardian also overheard an officer discussing the presence of members of the far-right and saw people swearing and gesturing at pro-Palestine demonstrators.

Usman Rafiq, a 43-year-old GP and his wife, Uma Hani, a 40-year-old dentist, attended the protest with their three children. Hani said this was to “show solidarity to people in Palestine” and that Maccabi “should not have been playing in our city”.

“A lot of people say that sport shouldn’t be a part of politics but it is inherently about politics,” Rafiq added.

Asked about criticism that Maccabi had been unfairly treated, Usman said: “It’s the kind of hooliganism that they’re displaying, the Islamophobic hooliganism, tearing down Palestinian flags” before referring to incidents in Amsterdam.

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (Sag) announced the ban on public safety grounds in October after police classified the match as “high risk” based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” that occurred around the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi in Amsterdam.

The ban sparked controversy with some criticising it as a surrender to antisemitism. Keir Starmer said the decision was “wrong” and opposition leader Kemi Badenoch branded it a “national disgrace”.

The tension before the match led some schools to close early, Birmingham City Council confirmed, with council staff working or travelling near the stadium asked to explore alternative arrangements. Police also urged people to avoid the area where possible.

Counter-demonstrator Jill Chant, 76, said she was “shocked” by the ban and came to the stadium to “protest against the antisemitism and the banning of Israelis from coming to Birmingham”. Her husband, Steven Chant, 76, wore a Maccabi shirt and said he believed the ban was “nothing to do with football, it’s all to do with sectarian politics – to be precise antisemitism”.

Eran Hendler, 57, a hotelier from Tel Aviv and a Maccabi fan, described the ban on fans as “very strange” and said that decisions should be made for the majority, not an “extreme” minority.

Hendler, who said he had felt safe in Birmingham, said: “Even to go to local competitions in Israel, in England, you can see that there are some extreme people who are not coming to watch the game, they are coming to make a mess. But in general, most of the people … want to come to the game.”