Fans banned from match

[SunnySideDeepDown]

WTAF?!

https://news.sky.com/story/maccabi-tel-aviv-fans-will-not-be-allowed-to-attend-aston-villa-match-amid-safety-concerns-13451240

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned due to safety concerns AGAINST them?

Since when is it ok to victim blame and penalise people who have done nothing wrong? Surely the right course of action would be either to ban ALL fans of both sides or better police the event?

So are Jews not welcome at sports games now? Because some people are racist bullies?

I genuinely can’t believe this has been allowed. Where does it end? Can Jews no longer safely access society? What if the risk is high elsewhere, will they be banned then?

What do you think? AIBU to think this is discriminatory and a slippery slope?

You too seem very confused. Cars were used for hit and run incidents against Israeli fans. They were terrorised and injured in Amsterdam. So much so recuse flights were sent! The prime minister and The King of the Netherlands both expressed their horror and shame at the racial hatred and violence aimed at Israeli fans. They called it out as anti semiotic hate.

If the people of Birmingham intend to do the same the match will be cancelled. You are not fit to host if you can not guarantee the safety of the visitors and fans.

Here are the facts, so you can read what actually happened:

www.euronews.com/2024/11/08/israel-deploys-rescue-planes-to-amsterdam-after-violent-attacks-on-football-fans

You seem to be confused about what happened in Amsterdam and need to read more balanced news sources.

Plus Israel is not even in Europe and its teams should participate in Asian football tournaments.

We have enough issues in Europe to deal with without importing them from.the Middle East.

Israel is very welcome here, thanks.

As I see it there are four scenarios that will happen.

1/ The lovely law abiding, wouldn't hurt a fly and never have Tel Aviv fans, will see that Birmingham is not safe and will stay at home and nothing at all will happen, and posters on here will claim anti-Semitism.

2/ The Tel Aviv hooligans will turn up anyway, protest chant and cause trouble. the locals will defend themselves, and the usual's on here will come out and say its all due to anti-Semitism.

3/ Both sides will fight head to head in the city centre before the match even starts have a mass brawl and yep on here anti-Semitism.

4/ People turn up watch the match and go home.

So the UK should tell all the middle eastern Muslims that they arent welcome too then if you dont need issues imported from the middle east? I'm sure you didn't mean that though, just the jewish ones.

Are you not embarrassed and ashamed we are even having this conversation in 2025?

Anti semitism will not be tolerated. In the same way we wouldn’t allow Muslim fans to be injured, terrorised and chased out of town and run over by cars.

The peole of Birmingham need to calm the fuck down and get a grip. They can not bring their intolerance here.

They need to welcome fans as we have always done from all over the world, treat them respect and understand that any other action is not welcome in this country, do you understand?

Of courae they don't understand. They are fed a diet of how intrinsically superior they are to Jews right from the womb.

Remind me which other countries in the Middle East have teams which play in UEFA competitions again?

Why would I be embarrassed?

Anti-Semitism exists and should be confronted in all its forms.

There is a part of this that is no doubt anti-Semitism.

But there is also a part of this that is violent, racist thigs coming into a multi racial community with the intention of disturbing the peace.
Just because those people are Jewish does not get them a 'get out of jail free card' for illegal behaviour.

Are you not embarrassed to not be able to recognise that the issue isn't only the Birmingham council wanting to "protect" the majority of its people but also the the Tel Aviv thugs that are going to cause problems by being racist and violent?

Racism will not be tolerated in any form, whether that's anti-semitism, chanting "Death to Arabs" or making monkey sounds at black players.

Hence the ban. Why risk a riot and import a lot of trouble makers? Who is going to pay for it? I bet it's not your money on the line or your business which will get smashed up nor your family or friends who will get hurt.

How on earth would you know what the Israeli fans intend to do? Do you have a crystal ball? You are making a lot of assumptions.

Birmingham council can not discriminate one race from another. They will be reminded of the law and the expectation of not discriminating or being anti sermitic.

If any fan uses racial abuse. I would expect the game to stop and the offenders to be arrested and removed. That goes both ways.

We will not be discriminating in this country against anyone. The people of Birmingham do not get to bend the rules to suit them nor do they bring their intolerance and discrimination to our sports fixtures.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to bring in the army. Or special forces to keep the community of Birmingham in check, and to ensure order.

Before their fans improved they were often banned, and banned from pubs near away stadiums.

Not importing more problems from the ME sounds good although they probably meant to only apply it to one side.

You mean more balanced like the Guardian? Do you think it is over the BBC. Why?

Perhaps one way of dealing with the threat of violence and social unrest would be for there to be a ban on demonstrations in Birmingham during the days around the match which would make policing easier.

‘Visitors cared for and looked after’

They are not the ones who need any protection. Wasn’t long ago when they kicked a football fan unconscious in Athens and were chanting ‘there are no schools in Gaza as there are no children left’

I don’t know why you continue to defend them - they are scum.

If we banned anyone that might be trouble, we would have no football matches at all 😂.

The people of Birmingham are amongst the most tolerant in the country.

This was a very valid public safety decision yes, made in the context of a war taking place thousands of miles away and a violent, provocative fan base coming to this city. The last violent provocative fan base that visited was also banned from entering the ground. We’re not going back decades here, it was 2023. A policeman was set on fire, people were injured and weapons were confiscated. I doubt it made national news, it certainly didn’t have politicians wading in to demand those poor Polish fans have the right to go to the game but there were no political points to be scored. This time it looks as if police have made (or tried to make) the decision to prevent trouble before it gets to that stage.

Be real here though, this isn’t just about a football match, it’s about protests and counter protests. The MTA aren’t a peace loving fan base just wanting to go to a game. It’s about people travelling to the area to target Israelis but it’s also about people travelling to the area to target Muslims - Tommy Robinson has already done his call to arms posing in a MTA shirt. Many of the people that will be flooding the area won’t even be interested in the football. Meanwhile the Villa fans who do want to attend (many are avoiding) are at risk.

Don’t tell the people of Birmingham to get a grip from your safe distance. It won’t be you caught in the middle of it all when you’re trying to go about your daily business, live in peace in your own home and travel to and from work. The politicians have been so irresponsible here.

What are the people of Birmingham so ‘tolerant’ of? It seems monocultural when I visit.

Go back to watching GB news.

The problem is your delusion of being tolerant. You are not remotely tolerant.

I agree there could be trouble, in that case we need serious police presence, perhaps even the army. So everyone feels safe - the city and the visiting fans.

What we will NOT be accepting is discrimination of any kind. We won’t have certain races banned. We won’t accept your intolerance.

You are right, the war is thousands of miles away and nothing to with any of the citizens here or there.

Birmingham will get the support it needs to host a simple football match safely.

I hope there is a good well rounded education system in Birmingham, because we can not have children growing up already discriminating and becoming anti semitic.

👏

I totally agree - double standards

I am very aware the football fans have a history of problematic behaviour. Many other fans do too. I still maintain it’s a troubling thing to do ‘right now’ and a lot of very troubling reactions from politicians and local leaders.

the announcement that they were banning fans because they are unable to protect them due to the number of protests in the area (about their country, not the sport) is problematic. Who exactly is in charge here?