West Midlands Police's advice to Premier League club Aston Villa not to allow any Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters at Villa Park for Europa League football has sparked a major debate in the UK.
The country's Prime Minister Keir Starmer was furious over the recommendation, which came a few weeks ago.
"We do not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets. The job of the police is to ensure that all football fans can enjoy the game without having to fear violence or threats," Starmer wrote on X.
A few days later, the Israeli club stated that it had refused tickets, citing that the safety of the supporters could not be guaranteed.
The match is still seen as a high-risk match, especially since there was major unrest in Amsterdam when Ajax met Maccabi Tel Aviv last season.
Now over 700 police officers will be on the streets around the stadium in Birmingham, The Guardian and BBC report.
"We know that different groups will demonstrate throughout the day and we have planned so that we can balance the right to demonstrate with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham," the local police said in a statement earlier this week, according to the BBC.
According to one of the organizers behind the demonstrations, the protests will continue throughout the match and peaceful songs will be sung, the BBC reports.
Aston Villa–Maccabi Tel Aviv kicks off at 9:00 PM.
