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Several people were arrested during a soccer match in the United Kingdom involving Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. The team’s Israeli fans were not allowed to attend the match for security reasons, but unrest still broke out, with anti-Israel protesters nearby.
British police announced that six people were arrested on Thursday before the Israeli team’s match against Aston Villa in the Europa League.
Around 200 protesters gathered near a park near Aston Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand. These protesters included members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, according to The Associated Press. Pro-Israel protesters were also seen.
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An anti-Israel protester demonstrates outside Villa Park before the Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League football match on November 6, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Christophe Furlong/Getty Images)
Palestinian flags and banners, calling for a boycott of Israel, were seen lying on the ground near Trinity Road amid pro-Gaza chants.
West Midlands Police reportedly said a 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove his face mask, a 17-year-old man was arrested for defying a dispersal order, and three others were arrested for a racially motivated public order offense and another for a public order offense.
Police briefly formed a cordon to prevent a wave of protesters after an Israeli flag was allegedly waved by a passerby.
Five vehicles drove onto the field before kickoff, carrying electronic billboards displaying messages opposing anti-Semitism.
One of the messages, next to a Star of David, read “Ban hate, not fans”, while another contained a quote from French football legend Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but about bringing people together.
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A fan is escorted by members of the police as she holds the national flag of Israel outside the stadium before the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Aston Villa FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC at Villa Park on November 6, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The tense atmosphere outside the group came after the Birmingham Security Advisory Group’s decision last month to ban visiting supporters from attending the match. The decision was widely criticized, including by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and prompted Maccabi to declare that its fans would not attend the match.
The ban came at a time of heightened concerns about anti-Semitism in Britain, following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue earlier this month and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sporting boycott of Israel because of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
West Midlands Police said they had considered the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents”, including violence and hate crimes which occurred when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC fans were reportedly targets of violence in Amsterdam before and during the soccer team’s match against Ajax last year. More than a dozen people have already been charged in connection with the violence, and several have already been convicted after a series of violent incidents that occurred overnight.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been a common sight among Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in 2025.
A member of the public holds a protest sign reading ‘Football should not cover up genocide’ outside the stadium ahead of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League League Stage MD4 match between Aston Villa FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC at Villa Park on November 6, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The match against Aston Villa will be the team’s first away match in the Europa League since the pro-Palestinian protests that took place at the Thessaloniki Stadium, Greece, against PAOK on September 24. Around 120 supporters of the Israeli club traveled to Greece for the match and were held behind a police cordon before entering the venue.
