West Midlands Police apologises to MPs for 'confusion' caused by Maccabi Tel Aviv ban evidence

The head of West Midlands Police has apologised to MPs after the force provided misleading evidence related to the contentious ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match at Aston Villa that has spiralled into a political row.

The letter was submitted by Chief Constable Craig Guildford, after he was recalled to parliament next Tuesday to explain previous evidence - a rare move by the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee. He is due to appear alongside Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara, who told the MPs on 1 December that members of Birmingham's Jewish community supported excluding the Israeli club's fans from the politically-charged Europa League match in November.

"We can confirm that there is no documented feedback from Jewish representatives prior to the decision being communicated which expressed support for the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans," Mr Guildford wrote in a letter published today by the committee. "ACC O'Hara and I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologise to the Home Affairs Select Committee for any confusion caused and would like to reassure you that there was never any intention to mislead whatsoever." But he claimed that in recent weeks, members of the Jewish community have privately supported the decision taken in October.

Police pushed for the ban to be imposed by the Birmingham City Council's Safety Advisory Group, as Sky News first revealed, over the potential threat posed by Maccabi hooligans around Villa Park, given recent racist chanting against Arabs and Palestinians. The decision was challenged by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the club, which claimed violence in 2024 around a match in the Netherlands had been mischaracterised by West Midlands Police by underplaying attacks on the Israelis by locals in Amsterdam.

Incidents around that match were central to the decision taken in Birmingham. Mr Guildford has provided MPs with the UK Football Policing Unit's notes after a call with Dutch police, including claims "Maccabi fans prepared to confront and fight officers".

The unit did reference a "national mobilisation of Muslim youths" and reports of "hit and run style attacks on Maccabi fans" in retribution. Officials from Birmingham City Council will also be questioned by MPs next Tuesday.

The council has now confirmed to committee chair Dame Karen Bradley that a law firm is being commissioned to independently review the decision to improve their governance. Maccabi faced the ban despite having no recent UEFA sanctions for fan misconduct.

But since the Villa match, UEFA has punished Maccabi for anti-Palestinian racist chanting at their match in Germany against Stuttgart, where their fans were allowed to attend last month. As well as a €20,000 (£17,500) fine, they were handed a suspended ban on being allowed fans at an away match in Europe.

West Midlands Police also confirmed to MPs the visit to Villa Park of Swiss club Young Boys was only classified as medium risk, unlike the high-risk Maccabi game, despite their three sets of UEFA punishments since 2023 for fan unrest. Sky News revealed details of that risk assessment after West Midlands police officers were assaulted by Young Boys fans.

One man was jailed for two months while three others were also charged over the disorder. The letter from West Midlands Police does not address how their original Maccabi intelligence assessment referenced a previous match in England for the club against West Ham in 2023 which never happened..