Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (Labour) has declared that Aston Villa's football ground cannot be a "no-go area" for Jews. The minister made the statement amid growing pressure to overturn a ban on Israeli football fans attending a Europa League match at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police have barred supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending the November 6 game against Aston Villa, citing safety concerns. The force classified the fixture as high risk based on "current intelligence and previous incidents", pointing to violent clashes during a recent match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.
Government Response
Asked on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if Villa Park was now a no-go area for Jews, Miliband said: "No, and it can't be, and I'm very, very clear about that." The minister, who is from a Jewish family, added: "We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country, and we've got to stamp out all forms of prejudice, antisemitism, Islamophobia, wherever we find them."
Miliband said he "profoundly" disagreed with independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr Ayoub Khan, who has supported a petition calling for the match to be halted and for a boycott of Israeli teams playing in the UK. The Energy Secretary argued that the "vast majority of Muslim people in this country would disassociate themselves" from suggestions that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could not attend because Birmingham is a predominantly Muslim area.
Political Pressure
The decision has faced widespread criticism across the political spectrum. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho (Conservative) described the move as a "disgrace", telling Sky News that police regularly managed other high-risk events.
"What you've seen is policing in this country has been able to protect people at the Notting Hill Carnival, where people are routinely injured, it's protected people through the Palestinian marches," Coutinho said. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) was reportedly "angered" by the decision, with Downing Street saying he was "entitled to speak out on fundamental principles of fairness like this".
Review Process
The Government expects West Midlands Police to outline early next week what resources they would need to police the game safely with both sets of fans present. Birmingham's safety advisory group, which includes the council and police force, is expected to discuss the issue at a meeting next week.
However, Birmingham City Council said on Friday it would not review the ban unless there was a change in the police risk assessment. Senior officers at the UK Football Policing Unit have backed the decision, saying it was "important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions".
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
