Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv has decided not to sell any tickets to its fans for the 6 November fixture against Aston Villa in the English city of Birmingham.
The latest development in an absurd saga came after British government ministers repeatedly insisted a West Midlands Police decision to ban the club’s fans from attending the game was antisemitic, and promised to overturn the ban.
On Sunday, amid widespread media and political fury at the ban in the UK, Israeli police cancelled a planned derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv, after what the police described as “public disorder and violent riots”.
According to Jewish News, Maccabi’s latest decision to decline any tickets offered to its fans for the match in Birmingham came largely due to an intervention by notorious pro-Israel activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, urged his followers to protest against “Islamist activists” at the much-debated match and posted a photograph of himself in a Maccabi Tel Aviv shirt.
Read more: Maccabi Tel Aviv declines tickets to UK game after Tommy Robinson vows to defend fans
