Aston Villa players will take the knee at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as part of the Premier League’s “No room for racism” campaign to tackle discrimination. Spurs have a proportion of their support drawn from the Jewish community and the Star of David is seen at games. So, following the controversial decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Villa Park, will West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council now ban Spurs fans from travelling to Villa Park on May 2 because of the club’s Jewish connections? That would be utterly shameful.
WMP and the council have set a dangerous precedent by banning Maccabi fans from attending their Europa League game at Aston Villa on November 6. Villa are blameless in all this. The decision to ban away fans has been forced on them.
The political and societal ramifications are obviously huge: the decision suggests the streets around Villa Park are a no-go zone for Jewish people. The decision suggests the police have lost control of the streets. Intense commentary has rightly ensued, not least from angry leaders of the main political parties. Many headlines correctly focus on what this decision means to modern Britain, to issues around multi-culturalism and tolerance and who is in control, religious leaders or political leaders? The question is are WMP and the council acting to protect visiting Jewish fans or local sensitivities? Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for the ban to be overturned and it will be interesting to see how that unfolds today. Talks are already underway.