Documents reveal that Jewish community groups explicitly warned West Midlands police that a decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League fixture against Aston Villa at Villa Park in Birmingham on November 6 "could be perceived as antisemitic," rather than solely a public safety decision. This perception, they cautioned, had the potential to undermine trust and increase reputational risk for both authorities and Aston Villa Football Club. The ban itself had already sparked outrage, with the Prime Minister and Keir Starmer condemning it as "wrong" and suggesting it amounted to antisemitism.

These revelations stem from redacted minutes of a council-led safety advisory group meeting held on October 16, the day the ban was announced, which were obtained by The Guardian through a freedom of information request. At this meeting, West Midlands police also acknowledged being aware of concerns among the Aston Villa fanbase regarding hate crime incidents, specifically "isolated incidents of antisemitic abuse."

Further scrutiny of the police's rationale came after West Midlands assistant chief constable, Mike O’Hara, apologised to Birmingham’s Jewish communities. This apology followed his testimony to MPs in early December, where he had implied some community members supported the ban. A police spokesperson later clarified that it was never the officer's intention to suggest explicit support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans.

According to the meeting minutes, West Midlands police informed the safety group that it possessed "significant intelligence indicating potential for disorder" involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, referencing incidents from recent fixtures in Italy, Norway, and Amsterdam. The police also cited disorder in other sports, such as baseball in Holland, when Israeli teams were involved. They concluded that these incidents suggested Maccabi Tel Aviv’s presence could attract protest and disorder, even outside a football context. The force also highlighted a "high likelihood of protest activity linked to the fixture whether aimed at MTA [Maccabi Tel Aviv] supporters or MTA themselves," deeming this the "highest threat." Despite this, the document indicated that the match's risk level remained "medium" without away fans, primarily due to existing community tensions and the potential for spontaneous protests. The decision to implement the ban, which received no objection from group members, was justified on the grounds of a "high risk associated with the presence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans" and the potential to exacerbate "community tensions."

The controversy intensified as the Home Affairs Committee recalled West Midlands police chief constable Craig Guildford to parliament for a hearing to scrutinise the ban. Ahead of this, Guildford provided additional details about the intelligence, including notes from an email summarising a meeting between WMP’s football unit and Dutch police. These notes described "violent confrontations" before a 2024 match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam, which included alleged incidents of Muslim taxi drivers being pulled from vehicles and the singing of anti-Muslim and anti-Gaza chants. Furthermore, on the day of that fixture, there was reportedly a "national mobilisation of Muslim youths" travelling to Amsterdam "to seek retribution," resulting in alleged hit-and-run incidents targeting Maccabi fans.

However, the accuracy of some of WMP's claims has been challenged. Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, publicly stated that a number of the police's assertions were "inaccurate" and that the force had "conflated different things." The Times also reported that Dutch police expressed surprise at the claims attributed to them by the West Midlands force. The leader of Birmingham city council, John Cotton, and other council bosses are also scheduled to be questioned by MPs. In a December letter to the Home Affairs Committee chair, Birmingham city council’s executive director of city operations committed to an independent review to "ascertain what can be improved from a governance perspective." West Midlands police declined to comment when approached for this article.