Posted on 11/07/25
| News Source: JPost
At least six anti-Israel protesters were arrested at Villa Park, Birmingham, on Thursday following chants of "Death to the IDF," as well as refusals to comply with police orders to remove facemasks and disperse, according to The Telegraph.
The UEFA Europa League match at Villa Park, Birmingham, between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa, was held under a massive security operation. West Midlands Police clarified that those arrested included a 21-year-old man for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, and a 17-year-old boy for failing to comply with a dispersal order.
Three others were arrested for racially aggravated public offenses and one person for a breach of the peace.
Villa Park hosted the UEFA Europa League match where pro-Israeli Jewish protesters, supporting Maccabi Tel Aviv, and denouncing the ban, were placed by British police in a fenced-in basketball court near the Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv, footage on social media showed.
Despite fears of violent clashes after the match was classified as "high risk," the protests remained largely peaceful after police had deployed more than 700 officers in the center of Birmingham, which has a large Muslim population, and around the stadium.