UK police arrest 11 around soccer match between Aston Villa and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv

British constabulary person arrested 11 radical astir a Europa League shot lucifer successful Birmingham betwixt Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv

LONDON -- British constabulary said Friday that 11 radical were arrested the erstwhile nighttime astir the highly charged Europa League shot lucifer successful Birmingham betwixt English Premier League broadside Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, a lucifer that saw fans of the Israeli squad banned.

In an update Friday, West Midlands Police said 5 of those arrested were connected suspicion of racially aggravated offenses. The others included nonaccomplishment to comply with orders and breaching the peace.

The constabulary unit deployed much than 700 officers astir the Villa Park stadium implicit concerns of clashes betwixt pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.

Though tensions were precocious up of the match, determination were nary superior incidents.

A pro-Palestine protestation was held extracurricular the stadium earlier kick-off, wherever hundreds turned up with Palestinian flags and anti-Israeli banners.

There was a flashpoint arsenic a pistillate holding an Israeli emblem walked past but she was rapidly escorted distant by constabulary earlier it escalated.

There was besides a counter-Israeli protestation astatine the different broadside of Villa Park, with protesters holding up signs speechmaking “Keep antisemitism retired of football." Five vehicles were driven past the crushed carrying physics billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.

One of the messages, beside a Star of David, work “Ban hatred not fans” portion different carried a punctuation from French shot fable Thierry Henry saying shot is not astir goals but bringing radical together.

The match, which Aston Villa won 2-0, was successful the spotlight aft officials successful Birmingham decided past period to prohibition visiting fans from attending. The decision was wide criticized, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but lauded by others, who said Maccabi fans person a caller past of violence.

West Midlands Police said it had deemed the lucifer to beryllium precocious hazard “based connected existent quality and erstwhile incidents,” including unit and hatred crimes that took spot erstwhile Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam past season.

Following the furor, Maccabi announced they would diminution immoderate distant tickets for the clash,

The prohibition came astatine a clip of heightened worries astir antisemitism successful Britain pursuing a deadly onslaught connected a Manchester synagogue past period and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sports boycott of Israel implicit the warfare against Hamas successful Gaza. Hopes that the caller ceasefire would easiness tensions look premature.

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