Israelis should be welcome in Birmingham

The large majority of Jewish callers into Any Answers at the weekend agreed with them.

On this I totally agree
the ban should have been on the basis of evidence and intelligence provided to the safety advisory committee

the MPs comments have inflamed this whole situation

Well, they’re not new and they’re commonly used

Sky Sports described them as a "rarity" so they are not commonly used.

See the long ban after Heysel

39 people were killed at Heysel, 600 people were injured and 14 Liverpool fans convicted of manslaughter - hardly a relevant comparison.

Great news that they've decided not to let their fans travel, all's well that ends well!

Well, they’re not new and they’re commonly used. They’re a last resort, yes, but not rare.

MTA fans are violent. That is grounds enough for a stadium ban. See the long ban after Heysel.

AppleStrudel16

Stadium bans are not new. They are used often

Sky Sports described them as "a rarity" and so did Al Jazeera.

Ajax fans were banned from Marseilles recently

Authorities cited the violent reputation of sections of Ajaz's fanbase and the "long-standing animosity" between the two sets of supporters as justification.

What is the 'long-standing animosity' between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv?

Okay?

Ajax fans were banned from Marseilles recently.

The entire point of a stadium ban is that it is not permanent. That would be incredibly harsh and likely lead to the revolt of the fans.

Ajax are playing in London tomorrow night.

No no I think it is good that in a debate we can agree on some points.

Which is allowed? You’re probably disgusted you agree with me though!

'In this instance yes I think he should have stayed quiet because it has conflated two very different issues and has weakened the case for stricter measures for football racism punishments'

Well we agree on that then.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/21/standing-with-maccabis-football-hooligans-against-local-police-is-that-what-patriotism-looks-like-now

Jonathan Liew article in the Guardian:
“And really Robinson is just the thin end of the wedge here, the racist canary in the mine, the reductio ad absurdum of an impulse that has long been embedded in our politics. Choosing to stand with the far-right foreign football hooligan against the local police force: this, apparently, is what British patriotism looks like in 2025. Truly, we are through the looking-glass here.”

I think it was ill timed, but the police have made the decision on the basis of the intelligence available to them and the recommendations made by the safety advisory group.

In this instance yes I think he should have stayed quiet because it has conflated two very different issues and has weakened the case for stricter measures for football racism punishments.

'I didn’t answer the question you have posed because it’s simply not what has happened. Racist football fans have been banned. That’s what has happened, and trying to dress it up as something else diminishes the meanings of the words you’re using'

So what about the MPs petition about genocide, is that just totally irrelevant in which case don't you agree he hasn't helped matters, actually stoked anger and should have remained quiet on the whole thing?

I actually included a chapter on antisemitism against Tottenham fans and how that has been tackled, but I’d have to locate the document to read it again to fully remember it - it’s been five years!

Yes. You absolutely did.

I actually looked at how the presence of players of certain demographics in areas with largely another demographic can be very beneficial to the local community. For example, Salah’s presence on Merseyside has reduced Islamophobic hate crimes by a substantial amount.

I didn’t answer the question you have posed because it’s simply not what has happened. Racist football fans have been banned. That’s what has happened, and trying to dress it up as something else diminishes the meanings of the words you’re using.

Sorry I didn't mean to demean your dissertation in footie fans.

Did you include other issues particularly how if the local residents where an event is planned are of one demographic <with MPs who have submitted a petition pertaining to conflicts in other countries> then other factors can contribute?
So, for example, the banning of fans can be used as a diversion to hide the other serious issues like for example antisemitism?

Hmm @Gloriia, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you asked MNHQ to remove your remark.

On racism in football fans, why current punishments don’t work, and how they could be improved.

I got a first and my dissertation supervisor who works with Chelsea football club actually took my dissertation with him to a meeting he had with the club’s upper management.

do you have an issue with that?

I actually wrote my dissertation on this topic.

Yes, I do believe that a more frequent use of stadium bans would be a step forward to tackling the issue of racism in football fans. The entire reason such racism occurs is because the perpetrators lose their sense of identity in a crowd and feel more able to express these views. The people around them don’t tend to challenge it.

Should stadium bans be utilised more, there would be more pressure from everyone - fans and clubs, to eradicate these behaviours. I don’t think permanent stadium bans would be right, but for games (or 3, or 5), I believe they could be a very effective tool.

Stadium bans are not new. They are used often and I think that when the fans are exceedingly violent, they can be appropriate. Ajax fans were banned from an entire city!

What, so you advocate banning every team's fans from every match because some do behave badly?!

What we tend to do is identify those and ban them individually not ban a whole side.

Your attempts to detract from what this is actually all about are so very transparent.

@AppleStrudel16
If as you claim that your issue is with racism in football fans and not anti semitism, would you support all
attendances by all football fans at all football matches on the basis that 43% of ethnic minority football fans have experienced racist chants at football matches and 74% see racism as a problem in professional football?

Or is the problem just Jewish fans?

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/over-half-uk-adults-view-racism-football-problem

I will treat them as all other racist fan groups are treated.