UK Police Under Fire as Birmingham Council Leader Testifies Over Maccabi Fan Ban

West Midlands Police are facing mounting scrutiny over their role in the controversial decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending a Europa League match in Birmingham, as the city’s council leader prepares to give evidence to Parliament amid claims of flawed intelligence, misleading testimony, and a breakdown in trust with the Jewish community.

Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton is scheduled to appear before the Home Affairs Select Committee alongside senior council officials after West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford gives further testimony on January 6. The committee is investigating the decision to bar Israeli fans from the November 6 match against Aston Villa, a move that drew condemnation from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and senior MPs across parties.

Cotton has said he advised police against the ban, warning it would send a damaging message about Birmingham’s values. While stressing he did not interfere with operational policing decisions, he said he made clear that excluding fans on the basis presented would have “very negative consequences” for the city.

At the center of the controversy is the intelligence used by police to justify the ban. West Midlands Police cited alleged violent incidents involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters at a previous match in Amsterdam, describing fans as highly organized and prepared for confrontation. Those claims have since been challenged by Dutch police, UK officials, and Parliament itself.

Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, told MPs that key elements of the police account were inaccurate or exaggerated, including claims of multiple assaults and mass disorder. Dutch law enforcement authorities said they did not recognize the depiction of Israeli fans as trained or organized fighters and rejected several specific allegations cited by British police.

The credibility of the police case suffered a further blow after West Midlands Police admitted they had wrongly told Parliament that the local Jewish community supported the ban. During a December hearing, Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara said Jewish representatives were among those who opposed Maccabi fans attending the match. That claim later proved to be false.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford acknowledged in a formal letter to MPs that there was no documented evidence of Jewish community support for the ban prior to its announcement. He issued an apology to Parliament and confirmed that O’Hara had personally apologized to Ruth Jacobs, chair of the Birmingham and West Midlands Jewish Community.

Community leaders said they were “horrified” by the original claim and stressed that no meaningful consultation took place before the decision was made. MPs from multiple parties have since questioned whether Parliament was misled and whether the intelligence underpinning the ban met even basic standards.

The controversy deepened further when police conceded that their risk assessment cited a previous UK match involving Maccabi Tel Aviv that never occurred. Senior officers have now been recalled for additional oral testimony, an unusual step that raises the prospect of a formal investigation by the police watchdog.

Birmingham City Council has confirmed it has commissioned an independent external review to assess how the decision was made and what governance failures occurred.

The match ultimately went ahead without Maccabi supporters, under heavy police presence and amid protests outside the stadium. What remains unresolved is how a major police force relied on disputed intelligence, misrepresented community views to Parliament, and imposed a sweeping ban that many lawmakers now say should never have happened.