Police watchdog may investigate West Midlands force over Maccabi fan ban

The police watchdog may investigate West Midlands Police over its decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from an Aston Villa game.

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)  director, Rachel Watson, told the Sunday Times she was willing to use the watchdog’s “power of initiative” given the “sensitivities” of the case.

The order refers to a WMP dossier containing  inaccurate information that Maccabi fans visiting Amsterdam for an Ajax game last year threw people into a canal, that 200 were “linked” to the IDF, and that 5,000 officers had been deployed to respond.

Chief Constable Craig Guilford is facing calls to resign over his forces actions, including the use of a fictitious match between Maccabi and West Ham as evidence for the ban of fans of the Israeli side.

Maccabi fans were prohibited from attending a 6 November match in Birmingham based on reports of hooliganism at other away games they attended.

Police also faced criticism over two of its high-ranking officers appearing to reiterate some of these inaccuracies before the committee.

Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara’s was also forced to apologise after telling a parliamentary committee that representatives of the Jewish community had said they did not want Maccabi fansat the match, when they had said no such thing.

The IOPC is not yet investigating the force’s decision, but a spokesperson said: “It is right for public confidence and police accountability that the force’s involvement in the decision-making process is examined.”

They noted HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services was examining the risk assessment West Midlands Police carried out before the fixture and the extent to which the intelligence it gathered “reflected the full information and intelligence picture”.

They added that the Home Affairs Committee has asked the force for “additional evidence” relating to  Guildford and  O’Hara’s committee appearance earlier this month.

“It is important for us to assess evidence related to these processes before determining our next steps.”

The IOPC spokesperson also said it had written to West Midlands Police and the region’s police and crime commissioner to “seek assurances over what assessments they have made of any conduct”.

They said this was important “to understand why a formal referral has not been made”.

Last week  week, Maccabi Tel Aviv was fined €20,000 (£17,550) for “racist and/or discriminatory behaviour” by supporters during their game at Stuttgart in Germany on 11 December.

Fans were also given a suspended one away match ban.