Just cancel Aston Villa’s match

[olderandnonthewiser]

A massive waste of public money policing a game where violence is so expected that schools have had to close early.

It’s just a game. Just football. Shouldn’t be a drain on public services.

No.

Islam should not be dictating which football teams can play in this country.

It’s the locals that are the threat here.. not the ‘hooligans’ attending the match.

As a season ticket holder I won't be going sadly . I have been attending matches for over 40 years and I've never felt unsafe attending matches until now. Villa fans should be able to attend a football match without fear of intimidation. Apparently there are rival factions that will be demonstrating and I can't see everything passing off peacefully.
I'm really angry that my clubs name is being dragged through the mud . I just hope that all the fans are able to enjoy the match and get home safely. I also feel sorry for the local residents who are going to be frightened to leave their homes tonight.
And no, the game shouldn't be played behind closed doors - mob rule has no place in our society. People have the right to peaceful protest but they shouldn't be allowed to dictate what other people are allowed to lawfully do

If Aston can't welcome Jews from Israel, then the game should be moved to Tel Aviv.

Well yes basically, these are all resources that the police already have, they won’t have bought anything specially. I can’t claim to know whether they have had to pay a substantial amount of overtime to cover this over and above the usual match day presence, but I can hardly imagine it’ll be close to the VAT receipt on ticket sales if they have. If the match was behind closed doors, they’d need even more police as the team pay for their own security inside the ground, quite rightly. It’s not the club’s responsibility to police streets nearby, also quite rightly. We can’t have private security guards making arrests on the streets… So the incremental cost of holding this match is not very significant. It’s the police force’s job to prevent and detect crime, it’s not their job to tell us we can’t do something because too many police will be required, luckily for us!

This isn’t a football issue it isn’t like Leeds playing Galatasaray. There is no football history here it is simply an overspill of political feeling towards Israel (shown by the way in previous matches maccabi tel aviv and Israel matches)

Aston Villa should not be punished because they happen to be the team that have drawn them

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2024_Amsterdam_riots

Small problem, Maccabi don't play their Europa League home matches in Tel Aviv

And why should Aston Villa be punished?

I don't think we have 700 'spare' police officers sat around doing nothing. They will be on days off or holiday and called back in.

Yes indeed. I know this.

Didn't actually know that!!
They should get punished because their fans are being unwelcoming.
I would want this seen with any teams displaying racism in any way.

Just get the Prince of Wales to pop along and sort it out.
Oh no, he is in Brazil, well Catherine could sub for him?

It should be played behind closed doors. But I still don’t think that would solve the issue of the protests that will be ongoing outside the stadium. Israeli teams shouldn’t even be playing European football imo, and that’s before I even get onto the fact that they should be banned from all competitions just like Russia is, and South Africa was.

This isn't the clubs fault. Every team in the draw was hoping not to get Tel Aviv, we and 7 others drew the short straw. It needs to be played, even handing over the 3 points wouldn't be appropriate. I hope it goes safely. My friend's going, but not taking his son to this one, and I can see why.

Their fans generally just want to watch the game. It's not their fault that some factions of the community are looking for trouble.

Aston Villa fans are unwelcoming to the Macabbi hooligan fraction, not all of their fans.

@intrepidpanda have you read what happened in Amsterdam and why the fans aren’t allowed.

this isn’t an Aston Villa issue arguably it is probably a UEFA one having not thought through the impact but they shouldn’t be penalised for being unlucky enough to be the team drawn

You can’t make the money back from TV rights. They’re not negotiable at this stage, and not down to this level anyway.

Plus unless you’re also putting out an order to stay home, people will congregate anyway, outside the stadium and at pubs. And if you are putting out an order, you’ll need to police it…

The risk was maccabi tel aviv fans being thugs, Uefa should pay towards policing, if primary schools have to close it should be cancelled as children's education is a higher priority and israel shouldn't play in a European league

https://sussexbylines.co.uk/community/sport-and-leisure/i-am-a-jew-supporting-the-maccabi-ban-there-must-be-no-foul-play-in-local-democracy/

If some of those 'jews from Israel' are far right trouble makers then I'm glad they haven't been welcomed. I do hope the genuine fans manage to enjoy a safe match this evening

Why do people get so ridiculous over football? Clubs pay for 100% on policing in their grounds, they don't pay for policing in public spaces. Pubs, for example, don't pay for any policing in or outside their premises.

The Premiership alone contributes about £6bn a year in tax revenues. I think they pay their way.

You can't 'just cancel' a football match like that. It's an international competition and it would result in a loss of revenue for the home club - for Villa to cancel the game, they'd have to pull out of the entire Europa League tournament and give Maccabi a walkover to the next round. That would result in huge financial losses for Villa and they'd be in breach of contract with UEFA.

Exactly, most of the frothers here have no idea about football.

This is why their fans are banned from this match. The issue isn’t coming from fans that are going into the stadium to watch the match