Police confirm pro-Gaza MP’s involvement in Maccabi fan ban amid claims of political pressure

The central role played by an MP who campaigned to have Israeli football clubs thrown out of European competitions in the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a game against Aston Villa has been confirmed by police chiefs as they appeared before a parliamentary committee.

Independent MP Ayoub Khan, who led a petition for the Europa League game to be cancelled before switching to supporting a ban on Israeli fans, had telephoned Aston Villa to voice his objection to the match and met with police chiefs ahead of the decision, it was confirmed.

This move led to widespread communal anger and claims that Israel-Jewish fans were being prevented from attending a football match in the city.

Appearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee, West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford and Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara appeared to contradict their own earlier claims that there had been “no political pressure” placed upon the force over its decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the game with Aston Villa last month.

Chief Constable Guildford said the WMP’s starting point had been, “this match is being played, both teams are coming, both sets of supporters are coming,” and insisted they felt “no political pressure over making any decision.”

Guildford told the committee that the decision to eventually ban fans from attending the 6 November game “wasn’t taken lightly” and said the police evaluation was based primarily on information given to the force by Dutch police commanders ahead of the game.

He insisted Dutch police commanders were “unequivocal” in telling WMP “they would never want to have Maccabi Tel Aviv playing in Amsterdam in the future.”

“The Ultras were very well organised, militaristic in the way that they operated,” he went on.

But under further questioning, the two senior police chiefs revealed it had been MP Khan—first exposed by Jewish News over his attempt to downplay the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7—who had proactively contacted Aston Villa FC and asked them to correspond with Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) over the fixture with the Israeli side. Khan, who has a long history of anti-Israel activity, was also granted a meeting with police, it was confirmed.

Guildford confirmed WMP had “met with the local MP for the Aston area” ahead of making an assessment on the match, as well as speaking to other community groups “to gain the intelligence.”

“Clearly, there were very opposing views all the way through this event,” he added. “All that was fed into the command team.”

Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley then raised concerns that while the police denied they had been put under political pressure, “you had spoken to the local MP.” Bradley then asked: “Is that normal? Do you usually speak to the MP about matches?”

Guildford said local commanders would indeed speak with MPs “all the time.”

But asked if he had a conversation with Khan ahead of last week’s Europa League game against Swiss side Young Boys, where the away fans caused serious trouble inside the ground, the police chief said he had not been contacted.

He then continued that, in regard to the Maccabi game, “Aston Villa had been approached by the MP, right. Aston Villa asked, I think it was Birmingham City Council for the SAG responsibility side of things… and ourselves to meet with the MP. From our perspective, of course, we are going to meet.”

Later, Labour MP Peter Prinsley also raised concerns that the local SAG had faced political appointments, who might have influenced the report provided to WMP.

“There are elected councillors sitting on Birmingham SAG, and there is also the local MP… the idea that there could not have been political interference is a little difficult for us to grasp if there were political figures right at the heart of the decision making,” added Prinsley.

It has previously been reported that at least two individuals sitting on the SAG had also been involved in anti-Israel and BDS campaigns.

“I think that’s a question for Birmingham City Council and the SAG chair,” said O’Hara.

Earlier, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, told the Home Affairs Committee he “struggled” with some “inaccurate” details given by the West Midlands force.

Mann also highlighted an error in the West Midlands Police intelligence report, which referenced a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham, which had never happened, he said.

The chief constable admitted that had ended up in the report “due to a social media post” but claimed this did not impact on their overall decision.

Israeli fans were prohibited from attending the 6 November game at Villa Park in Birmingham, a decision that was later reviewed.

But Lord Mann argued segregation of the fans would have been an “easier, better” solution.

He said the police report cited Maccabi fans in the Netherlands “pulling down Palestinian flags” on match day, when it was one flag the night before the game.

The report also referred to multiple incidents against taxi drivers, he said, when there was one incident.

“I think what you’re saying is the facts slightly changed to fit the decision,” he was asked by one MP.

“Right. Correct. Yes,” Mann replied. But it emerged that a report prepared by Mann ahead of the match had not reached WMP, and had instead been sent to the Home Office’s football intelligence department.

In the wake of the Maccabi ban, Keir Starmer criticised the move, saying “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets” and that the role of police was “to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

The Prime Minister also told Jewish News last week that he was “concerned” by the evidence used by WMP to make their decision.

Asked by MPs if he thought it was appropriate for the government to comment on operational decisions, the chief constable said politicians “should freely be allowed to express their views.”

“But from an operational policing perspective, sometimes when views are expressed quite publicly, particularly where views are given when, let’s say, all the facts haven’t been briefed in detail, sometimes… reporting it can increase tension and it can increase the level of threat and risk.”

The fixture had been classified as high risk by West Midlands Police, with the force pointing to alleged violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.

However, Dutch police have disputed the accuracy of this information, the Sunday Times reported, while the Israeli embassy in London accused British police of relying on incorrect intelligence.

Guildford told the committee: “(The day before the game) they attacked members of the local community, including taxi drivers, tore down flags, people were thrown into the river, and they sang songs about ‘no schools in Gaza because the children are all dead’.”

“They further stated that this group specifically targeted the local Muslim community deliberately.

“Members of the local wider Muslim community subsequently reacted and deliberately, on the day after, mainly attacked Maccabi fans on match day, both before the match and after.”

The Israeli embassy in London said West Midlands Police’s use of “disproven allegations” about Maccabi fans was “profoundly misleading, extremely troubling, and risks inflaming tensions.”