Emily Damari calls Maccabi ban a ‘disgusting decision’; says she is ‘shocked to my core’
Aston Villa Jewish supporters club says it has been 'inundated with Villa fans happy to give up their seats to travelling Tel Aviv supporters'
Maccabi Tel Aviv fan Emily Damari has today said she is “shocked to my core” by the “outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK”, with Jewish supporters of Aston Villa also expressing deep anger at the decision.
The British-Israeli ex-hostage, who supports both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Tottenham Hotspur, has condemned the decision by West Midlands Police to classify the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture in Birmingham as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.
In a statement on Friday morning, she said: “I was released from Hamas captivity in January and I am a die hard fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite. Shame on you. I hope you come to your senses and reconsider.”
The 28-year old, whose best friends Gali and Ziv Berman, also Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, were released from Hamas captivity on Monday 13 October after 738 days, added: “I do wonder what exactly has become of UK society. This is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying: “No Jews allowed.”What has become of the UK where blatant antisemitism has become the norm? What a sad world we are living in.”
Speaking today to BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme, Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Jack Angelides said the decision to block his team’s supporters from attending the Europa League match against Aston Villa had been met with “dismay” at his club.
He added: “I do find it somewhat difficult to understand why this has come to pass in the sense that our fans cannot be secure in attending this match”, and questioned whether it meant players and staff were also in danger. “Are we saying that they will be secure also or that there are issues with them?”
He said that “small events leading up to something more sinister” amounted to anti-Semitism.
Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villa’s supporters’ club, Jewish Villans, said the decision to ban fans of the Israeli side is “a political message rather than a safety message”.
Jewish Villans released an official message of their own, saying: “In the summer of 1938, on a tour of Germany, the name Aston Villa became famous around the world, as the only visiting team who refused an official request to perform the Nazi salute prior to kick-off. Today, the same club have been forced by the local authorities to salute modern day Nazism.
“We lay no blame on Villa – it would absolutely not be safe to allow thousands of Jews to walk around Aston and its surroundings. Why that may be so should trouble the entire country.
“It must also be said that following the announcement, we have been inundated with Villa fans happy to give up their seats to travelling Tel Aviv supporters.”
An unprecedented joint statement from Jewish supporters groups for Watford FC, Leyton Orient and Leeds United FC said they were “deeply alarmed by the decision” and “barring Jewish supporters under the vague pretext of ‘safety’ is not protection, it’s discrimination. It sends a chilling message.”
Posting on Twitter/X this morning, Mark Gardner, chief executive of CST, said: “Aston Villa match is about who controls the streets of UK’s 2nd largest city. The football is a very red herring.”
Uefa, which runs the Europa League, has urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend the match in Birmingham.
“UEFA wants fans to be able to travel and support their team in a safe, secure and welcoming environment, and encourages both teams and the competent authorities to agree on the implementation of appropriate measures necessary to allow this to happen”, the organisation said.
Expressing deep disappointment, Maccabi GB, the main sports organisation for the UK’s Jewish community (not associated with Maccabi Tel Aviv) posted a statement to Twitter/X saying that “Citing safety concerns is an unacceptable excuse for denying supporters fair and equal treatment”, adding: “Sport should welcome everyone. It is deeply regrettable that this has not been the case here.”
The football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa is scheduled for Thursday 6 November.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
