The anti-Israel group Hind Rajab Foundation has implied that it had influenced the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a Europa Conference League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham next month.
According to the UK West Midlands Police, the ban was initiated due to safety concerns and the risk of violence. They did not, however, specify whether the worry regarded protecting fans from protesters, fans from fans, or Aston residents from the fans. Muslims make up about 30% of Birmingham’s population.
On the day after the announcement, the HRF released a statement welcoming the decision, saying that it is “both normal and necessary.”
“The so-called ‘security threat’ identified by the authorities arises primarily from the behavior of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s own supporters, not from those advocating for accountability and justice,” it said.
It then added that its recent HRF report, “Game Over Israel: Sports Culture as a Cog in Genocide” had been shared with local police and security authorities in the UK just a few weeks prior.
HRF claims that it influenced UK ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans
“Therefore, it is unsurprising that the Safety Advisory Group and West Midlands Police cited the same concerns reflected in our findings when assessing the risks associated with this match,” the HRF said, somewhat leadingly.
The report in question goes into great detail regarding “how Israeli soldiers and ultras deploy football culture to humiliate Palestinians, glorify destruction, and normalize genocide.”
It condemned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for “racism and violence,” even blaming the Amsterdam riots in November 2024 on the Israeli fans, ignoring the pogroms that were enacted against Jews in attendance.
In that same report, the HRF went on to demand that Israeli teams and fans be excluded from football “until the genocide ends and accountability is enforced.”
“The Hind Rajab Foundation will continue to document, file cases, and expose this reality, working alongside global partners in the Game Over Israel campaign to bring about the sporting isolation of Israel as part of the broader struggle for justice,” it wrote.
A member of the aforementioned group, Game Over Israel, spoke to The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity, confirming that the group had handed the HRF dossier to the West Midlands Police on October 6, but that they thought it would be dismissed by them.
The HRF, which rose to prominence with its dogged campaigns to arrest IDF soldiers abroad, is chaired by Dyab Abou Jahjah, a self-proclaimed former Hezbollah terrorist.
Jahjah has posted images of himself posing with a Kalashnikov machine gun and has said that “being called a terrorist” was a “badge of honor.” He also praised Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
UK Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Daily Mail on Sunday that it was “a disgrace that this terrorist supporter has played a critical role in banning football supporters.”
“It is bad enough that the West Midlands Police, with the home secretary’s knowledge, capitulated to the threat of antisemitic mob violence. Now we learn they were acting on the advice of a terrorist sympathizer. This is sick,” Philp said.