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Several people were arrested at a soccer match in the United Kingdom involving the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. The team’s Israeli fans were banned from attending the match for security reasons, but riots still broke out, with anti-Israel protesters nearby.
British police said six people were arrested Thursday before 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. Among these protesters were members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, according to The Associated Press. Some pro-Israel protesters were also seen.
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An anti-Israel protester demonstrates outside Villa Park before the Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv on November 6, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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 man was arrested for defying a dispersal order and three others were arrested for racially aggravated public order offenses and another for disorderly conduct.
Police officers briefly formed a cordon to prevent a surge of protesters after a passer-by reportedly waved an Israeli flag.
Five vehicles drove past the field before kickoff, carrying electronic signs displaying messages opposing anti-Semitism.
One of the messages, next to a Star of David, read “Ban hate, not fans”, while another carried a quote from French football legend Thierry Henry saying that football is not about goals but about bringing people together.
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A fan is escorted by members of the police while holding the national flag of Israel outside the stadium before the 2025/26 Europa League MD4 stage match between Aston Villa FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC at Villa Park on November 6, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The tense atmosphere outside the group came after the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group’s decision last month to ban away fans from attending the match. The decision was widely criticized, including by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and led Maccabi to say its fans would not travel to attend the match.
The ban came at a time of growing concern about anti-Semitism in Britain following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue earlier this month and calls by Palestinians and their supporters for a sporting boycott of Israel over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
West Midlands Police said they had deemed the match 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 fans were reportedly subjected to 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 following a series of violent incidents overnight.
Pro-Palestine protesters have been a regular feature among Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in 2025.
A member of the public holds a protest sign reading “Football should not cover up genocide” outside the stadium before the 2025/26 Europa League MD4 stage match between Aston Villa FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC at Villa Park on November 6, 2025, in Birmingham, England. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The match against Aston Villa will be the team’s first away match in the Europa League since pro-Palestinian protests took place at the stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, against PAOK on September 24. About 120 fans of the Israeli club traveled to Greece for that match and were detained behind a police cordon before entering the venue.
