A Maccabi statement read: “Following the police’s decision, it was determined that the Tel Aviv derby will not take place tonight.” Maccabi distanced themselves from disturbances and claimed the postponement “was as a result of flares thrown on to the pitch by fans of our opponent Hapoel.” It came after Maccabi supporters were informed last week that they would not be allowed to attend November’s Europa League game against Aston Villa in Birmingham. Birmingham’s safety advisory group – made up of local stakeholders, West Midlands police and event organisers – said the decision had been made due to a high risk of violence our police banned them a week before this happend
“Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv say they will not accept any ticket allocation from Aston Villa if the decision to ban their supporters from next month's Europa League match is overturned.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3w98224xx8o On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified the fixture as "high risk" based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including "violent clashes and hate crime offences" between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam, in November 2024.
At last, some common sense being applied by football people. Looks like the politicians have egg on their faces.
After the thousands of civilian casualties this was a literal bombshell with all those Israelis arriving. I was at the World Cup, when Poland played in Germany, and the hatred was horrendous, some serious violence. That was after decades but this conflict is ongoing despite the claims of a ceasefire. I’m sure the government would’ve found a way to allow away fans to attend but it’s a huge effort/cost/risk for a football match … … hopefully people will calm themselves down a little.
The damage was already done, with all the publicity inflaming the situation, when they could have just got on with match arrangements quietly with efficient policing and minimal fuss. It's better they say they're not coming anyway now, so that puts an end to it all. Which fans started the trouble in the ajax game? Ajax v Maccabi Tel Aviv 59 arrests: 49 Ajax fans, 10 Maccabi fans 5 injuries: All Maccabi fans
Starting trouble doesn’t always mean you're the ones to finish it … … Adolf found that out the hard way and ended up chewing on a cyanide pill.
