Schools closed due to Villa game with Maccabi

Under siege. This is the shortest possible description of Birmingham today, or to be precise the part of the city close to Villa Park. Aston Villa is playing against Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight, the only Israeli club to be part of the UEFA Europa League and tensions are flying high due to anti-Israeli feelings in the local community. The reason is the recent Israel – Palestine conflict which took many Muslim victims and that community is large and influential in Birmingham. After all, the away fans were already banned from attending the match by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group after West Midlands Police last month deemed the fixture 'high risk'. This prompted widespread public and political criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who branded the move as the 'wrong decision' and akin to 'antisemitism'.

The club from Tel Aviv also stated that they wouldn’t accept the tickets for their fans anyway not only due to security reasons, but also for anti-Israel propaganda. But some parts of Birmingham community are doing exactly that even thou no away fans will be present. A number of masked Muslim protesters have posted 'Zionists not welcome' signs around Birmingham just hours before Aston Villa 's clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv, amid fears of mob violence spilling out onto streets and Jewish fans being 'hunted down'.

Lord Austin, a former Labour MP and lifelong Aston Villa fan, said: “This is a hate crime against Jews. I expect the police to urgently investigate and find the culprits. The local authority needs to be out immediately to remove these despicable signs. What should have been an exciting night of European football has been turned into a circus of extremism and antisemitism. Politicians and so-called community leaders, including an imam, have whipped this up and should be ashamed for their role in spreading division and fear in Birmingham”.

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Due to all those circumstances, schools in the Aston Villa stadium’s neighborhood have been closed down early while more than 700 police officers have been deployed for tonight’s game. Pro and anti Israeli supporters have already protested in recent days near the Villa Park and many of Pro-Palestine supporters have supported the idea of banning all Israel clubs from FIFA and UEFA competitions.

UEFA - EUROPA LEAGUE MATCHDAY 4

Thursday

20.45: (1.55) Basel (4.10) FCSB (6.25)

20.45: (3.25) Crvena Zvezda (3.50) Lille (2.30)

20.45: (2.70) Dinamo Zagreb (3.30) Celta (2.85)

20.45: (2.90) Malmo (3.30) Panathinaikos (2.65)

20.45: (2.10) Midtjylland (3.50) Celtic (3.80)

20.45: (2.65) Nice (3.20) Freiburg (2.75)

20.45: (1.67) Salzburg (3.80) Go Ahead (5.30)

20.45: (4.70) Sturm (4.00) Nott.Forest (1.70)

20.45: (4.80) Utrecht (3.60) Porto (1.77)

23.00: (1.23) Aston Villa (6.25) Maccabi T.A. (13.0)

23.00: (1.90) Betis (3.60) Olympique Lyon (4.50)

23.00: (1.38) Bologna (4.80) Brann (8.50)

23.00: (1.70) Braga (3.85) Genk (4.90)

23.00: (1.75) Ferencvaros (4.00) Ludogorets (4.85)

23.00: (1.65) PAOK (3.90) Young Boys (6.00)

23.00: (3.10) Plzen (3.40) Fenerbahce (2.30)

23.00: (5.50) Rangers (3.80) Roma (1.72)

23.00: (1.77) Stuttgart (3.70) Feyenoord (5.30)

***odds are subject to change***