Council leader to give evidence over Maccabi ban

Birmingham's council leader has been summoned to give evidence to MPs over a controversial decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an Aston Villa match.

The Home Affairs Committee is scrutinising the West Midlands Police and council-led safety advisory group's (SAG) decision to prevent away fans from attending the Europa League fixture at Villa Park in November.

Further details have also been provided by West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford about the intelligence that led to the ban.

Councillor John Cotton and other council bosses will be providing oral evidence following Mr Guildford's next appearance in front of the committee on 6 January.

The decision to ban away fans from Villa Park on 6 November was widely criticised, including by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and other senior MPs suggested it amounted to antisemitism.

Cotton, who will be appearing alongside the council's executive director of city operations Richard Brooks and director of law and governance Anthony Cox, told Birmingham Live he advised police against the ban.

"I made my position very clear to the chief constable [before the ban was confirmed]," Cotton is reported to have said.

"I was advised that this would be the advice the police were giving and I was clear that, though I do not interfere with police operational decisions, I did say that I thought this would have very negative consequences for Birmingham and sent a message out around what kind of city we are and how welcoming we are."

In a letter published on Tuesday to the Home Affairs Committee chair, Conservative MP Karen Bradley, Mr Brooks included minutes from three SAG meetings relating to the fixture.

"The 6 November 2025 Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match was obviously one from which the SAG and the council learnt a great deal," he wrote.

"Thus, the council and the SAG intend to commission a formal process of independent forward-looking review undertaken by an external law firm to ascertain what can be improved from a governance perspective."

Also published on Tuesday was a letter from West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford to the committee detailing intelligence considered by police before reaching the decision.

It includes notes of an email sent by the head of its football unit summarising a meeting he had with Dutch police on 1 October.

The notes refer to "violent confrontations" before a fixture between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam in November 2024.

Described as "well organised", the email notes said it was "clear that they [Maccabi fans] had received military training", relating to the Israeli policy of conscription, "such was the organisation in which they were able to mobilise, follow direction".

Alleged incidents reported in the notes included Muslim taxi drivers being pulled from vehicles and assaulted, Palestinian flags pulled down and set alight and the singing of anti-Muslim and anti-Gaza songs.

A march through Amsterdam, where people were reportedly thrown into the river, was also referenced, with the email adding Maccabi fans were "prepared to confront and fight officers".

On the day of the fixture, a "national mobilisation of Muslim youths" travelled to the capital seeking retribution, West Midlands Police's notes stated.

They also alleged reported hit-and-run incidents on Maccabi fans, and that about 2,000 Dutch police were deployed to manage the disorder.

A number of these claims were described as "inaccurate" to the same committee of MPs earlier in December by Lord Mann, the government's independent adviser on antisemitism.

He said Maccabi fans had just pulled down one flag the night before the Amsterdam game and that some of West Midlands Police's evidence "conflated" different things.

They also referred to multiple incidents against taxi drivers, he said, when there was only one.

A report in the Times said the national Dutch police force was "surprised" by some of the claims attributed to Dutch law enforcement by their British counterparts.

Of the suggestion Israeli fans were "organised" and "experienced fighters" prepared to confront police, spokesman Sebastiaan Meijer told the paper: "Amsterdam police does not recognise the claim."

He said the only known case of someone being thrown into a river related to a man who appeared to be a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called last month for the government to hold West Midlands Police to account, telling the Commons: "The Maccabi fans were not skilled and organised fighters - it was just made up."

In his letter to Ms Bradley, Mr Guildford also addressed comments from Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Mike O'Hara made during the previous committee meeting, which appeared to imply members of the Jewish community had agreed with the ban.

Mr Guildford said his deputy sought to clarify his position when he told the committee feedback from a community impact assessment made clear "there were a range of faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities that were very concerned about this fixture".

The chief constable confirmed there was no documented feedback from Jewish representatives before the decision was communicated which expressed support for the ban.

However, he added: "Since the session took place, ACC O'Hara has been approached by members of the Jewish community who expressed that they agree with the SAG decision.

"Understandably, many community members chose to share their views privately, offering their support in confidence."

He claimed the force had "strong and positive relationships with the local Jewish community" and that Mr O'Hara had clarified his position via email when contacted by the chair of Birmingham and West Midlands Jewish Community, Ruth Jacobs.

"This apology was very graciously accepted and subsequently shared with the community," he said.

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