Tommy Robinson’s social media post may have impacted Maccabi Tel Aviv’s decision to reject away tickets ahead of their Europa League clash with Aston Villa, according to a source.
Premier League side Aston Villa and Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv are set to compete in the Europa League league phase at Villa Park on November 6, but there will not be any away fans in attendance.
Last week, Villa posted an official statement to their website claiming that they had been instructed by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to block the sales of tickets to any Maccabi supporters amid safety concerns in relation to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
West Midlands Police said they supported the decision based on “current intelligence and previous incidents” involving violence.
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The decision received some backlash with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying the call was “wrong” before adding that “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets”.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said it was "shameful".
Just last year, Maccabi fans were involved in “committing acts of vandalism” in central Amsterdam ahead of their Europa League clash with Ajax in the city.
As reported by BBC News, the evening prior, some Maccabi fans tore down a Palestine flag before burning it.
Violence later erupted with over 60 people arrested after rioters launched a series of attacks on Israeli supporters, with Amsterdam officials claiming that the attacks were fuelled by a 'toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism and anger'.
Then, on Sunday (October 19), the Tel Aviv derby between Hapoel and Maccabi was called off after riots caused “risks to human life”, Israeli police said.
Footage emerged of supporters throwing missiles onto the pitch while fights took place near the Bloomfield Stadium.
As per The Guardian, Israeli police said it had made nine arrests.
On Monday evening, Maccabi addressed the Aston Villa ticketing saga, releasing a statement in which the club stated that they had “taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans”.
It has since emerged, via a report by the Mail, that far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s (formerly Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) show of support by wearing a Maccabi shirt was the ‘final straw’ for the club.
On Friday, Robinson posted a photograph of himself wearing one of the club’s shirts to social media, accompanied by the caption: “Who's coming to support Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park on November 6th?”
A source told Jewish News: “The risk posed by anti-Israel protesters was substantial, but we thought we had a plan to prevent them from prevailing. But that changed with the intervention of Tommy Robinson.
“There was now also danger that our supporters could be falsely associated with his far-right activities, in front of anti-Israel protestors already out to get them.
“With Robinson's supporters potentially posing as Maccabi fans on the streets of Birmingham, we concluded that the risk had become unacceptable for innocent fans who just want to watch their team play.”
SPORTbible has contacted Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv for comment
Topics: Aston Villa, Europa League, Football
Luke Davies