Israelis should be welcome in Birmingham

Can you name the numerous countries which have banned MTV supporters from attending matches?

They aren’t even on the top 10 list of dangerous fan bases.

Let’s not get into how they were targeted in Amsterdam. This article explains it very clearly including a very important point that the violence in Amsterdam was not from supporters of opposing teams, it was directed at one group of fans by the locals.

https://www.thefp.com/p/pogrom-amsterdam-antisemitism

I think the MP and his constituents views may be very relevant to this, as well as the glaring fact that the vast majority of MTV’s supporters coming from Israel will have been in the IDF.

The chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ which have been allowed on our streets may also be relevant.

Easier to say it’s the MTV supporters who may be violent though.

From the ME eye article linked above. I can't remember the outrage when Polish fans were banned at Aston Villa

Aston Villa gave the problematic Polish club a restricted ticket allocation of 1,000 tickets - the ticket holders were only denied entry to the game immediately before the match, following violent clashes with West Midlands Police, outside the stadium. An equitable solution therefore would be to allocate 1,000 tickets to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and allow them to watch the match if they behave themselves.

Amsterdam City Council recently banned Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Dutch capital

I see - very similar sentiments to Ayoub Khan in Birmingham;

The Amsterdam City Council passed an unprecedented decision over the weekend, declaring Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv football club “unwelcome” in the city.

Sheher Khan, leader of the Dutch left-wing Denk party, spearheaded the proposal.

“The hardcore of their fans supports genocide—and that alone is reason enough,” he claimed controversially.

That motion had nothing to do with safety though did it?

Racism sadly happens at clubs in this country and even more so all over Europe.

bigboykitty
The police based the decision on intelligence provided by UEFA

The Guardian quoted UEFA two days ago - they urged local authorities to allow Maccabi fans to travel;

Uefa, the governing body of European football, has urged local authorities to allow Maccabi fans to travel. The organisation said in a statement: “Uefa wants fans to be able to travel and support their team in a safe, secure and welcoming environment, and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow this to happen.”

137550 was the total number of all hate crimes in the UK in 2024, including the subset of religious hate crimes, not the number of hate crimes against against Muslims.
According to the guardian ‘anti-Muslim hate crime rose from 2,690 offences to 3,199 in the 12 months to March 2025’, with a particular spike after the Southport murders.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/09/muslim-charity-worried-hate-crimes-rise#:~:text=In%20the%20year%20ending%20March,highest%20annual%20total%20on%20record.
ETA agreed, both dreadful

No, I don’t. Not outside big stuff like the World Cup and even then I get bored with it easily. It’s so dull.

But I do follow the news.

And I’ve googled this. As far as I can see Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are no worse than many others at clubs all over Europe, including in England.

From the story:

"stated the game is 'not a normal football match' due to the 'ongoing genocide in Gaza', while also expressing fears about a 'track record of violence' by Maccabi fans.

'Their arrival in Aston - a diverse and predominantly Muslim community - poses a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder,' it added."

So game not allowed fans due to what some perceive as an ongoing genocide, not just due to fans behaviour 🤔 .

So Muslim people now decide who gets to go to a particular area..... in the UK! That cannot be allowed. A particular faith gets to dictate. No faith should dictate. Can they not be expected to control themselves if Jewish people are around? This situation in the UK will lead to more and more problems.

Thank you 😊

Thank you. I appreciate that. Apology accepted

To ban all Israelis from a predominantly muslim area is antisemitism.

They’re not banning all Israelis from a predominantly Muslim area, they’re banning MTA football supporters from going to the match, because their reputation for violence, aimed at Muslims, is well known.

Let’s just flip it round. If a team from a Muslim country was playing a match in or near a predominantly Jewish area and its supporters had a reputation for violence and racism against Jewish people, would the Jewish residents feel comfortable that the supporters were to be allowed to wander round their area at will?

It’s the fact that they are violent racist thugs that has got the supporters banned, not that they are Israeli or Jewish.

Actually, @Comedycook, thinking on SaratogaFilly’s post, just logged back on. Read through our interaction and she/he was right. It was inappropriate of me to ask you about anti-Islam sentiment and not the least relevant to your posts. I apologise wholeheartedly.

Palestine Action are a proscribed terrorist organisation. Seem to get support on the marches though 🤔

Presumably it's another attempt to make the Jews the bad guys in any given scenario. Plus ca change.

And not be violent thugs who have made racist chants AT THEIR OWN BLACK JEWISH PLAYER

You don’t follow football then I guess…

(1dayatatime said exactly that. It’s in black. And white, Couple of pages up)

It’s absurd because Jewish Villa supporters are (a) unlikely to be recognisable as Jewish, and (b) do not represent an Israeli football team.

FFS.

The council did not make the decision.

The police authority did. As it always does over football policing matters.

At least get the bloody basics right.

No one has said that. Most have agreed there will no doubt be trouble makers, football attracts some. However rather than manage that as they do weekly in footie season they are using it as an excuse to ban Jews. The MP has a thing about alleged genocide so of course all Jews are complicit in his view.

Absolutely @MaturingCheeseball and as seems to be the way nowadays, it’s the bullying thugs who get away with their atrocious behaviour! And that’s not MTV fans in this scenario.

The premise of the thread is bizarre. And round and round it goes.

A bully, really, how exactly?

I never once suggested it was in their heads.... honestly this is bizarre