West Midlands police, Birmingham Council and the Aston Villa v  Maccabi Tel Aviv game – reflections on the latest updates

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Readers will be aware that I wrote around about the time of the decision to bdn Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the game with Aston Villa. In my articles I expressed serious concerns both about the decision and the reasoning around it. This week, councillors and police including the Chief Constable were summoned back to… Continue reading West Midlands police, Birmingham Council and the Aston Villa v  Maccabi Tel Aviv game – reflections on the latest updates

The response to the Maccabi Tel Aviv game was not a success

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This will probably be my last post on this. I realise that this won’t be the most important topic for a lot of readers. However, as a resident of Birmingham living close to Aston and with Jewish friends, this has been a topic that has mattered much to me personally. I wasn’t going to say… Continue reading The response to the Maccabi Tel Aviv game was not a success

Police intelligence and the Maccabi Tel Aviv ban

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I see that a rumour is doing the rounds which seems to have originated from an unnamed source in the Guardian, that the reason for the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban at Aston Villa was not to do with the safety of Israeli and Jewish fans at the game but police intelligence that the fans… Continue reading Police intelligence and the Maccabi Tel Aviv ban

Anti-Zionism, crowd safety -myths and the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban

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In this article, I want to deal with two types of response to the Aston  Villa decision to ban away fans for their game against Maccabi Tel Aviv. I’m dealing specifically with those responses here.  I believe that the original decision was wrong, gives space to and rewards antisemitism but I’m happy to believe that… Continue reading Anti-Zionism, crowd safety -myths and the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban

More thoughts on the football fan ban

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Since the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from their game with Aston Villa, there has been much debate online. Some people have reacted strongly against the decision and even gone further, demanding that the communities in Birmingham linked to petitions and protests against the fans coming be deported.  I’ve responded to that argument… Continue reading More thoughts on the football fan ban

When antisemitism went to the football (responding to the ban on away supporters for Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv

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Aston Villa have announced that no away supporters will be permitted to attend their Europa league game with Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv on the 6th November.  The reasons given are that this is the Safety Advisory Group’s decision following advice from the police that they were concerned about potential safety concerns and their ability… Continue reading When antisemitism went to the football (responding to the ban on away supporters for Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv