6 arrested ahead of Villa's Europa League meeting with Maccabi Tel Aviv

LONDON (AP) — British police said six people were arrested Thursday evening ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa League soccer match with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, a match that has seen fans of the Israeli team banned.

West Midlands Police, which has deployed more than 700 officers, said a 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask while a 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a dispersal order. Three others were arrested for racially aggravated public order offenses and another for breach of the peace.

Around 200 protesters including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered near a children’s playpark adjacent to Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand.

Palestinian flags and banners calling for a boycott of Israel had also been placed on the ground beside Trinity Road amid pro-Gaza chants.

Police officers briefly formed a cordon to prevent a surge of protesters after an Israeli flag was reportedly waved by a passer-by.

Five vehicles were driven past the ground prior to kick-off, carrying electronic billboards showing messages opposing antisemitism.

One of the messages, beside a Star of David, read “Ban hatred not fans” while another carried a quote from French soccer legend Thierry Henry saying football is not about goals but bringing people together.

The tense atmosphere outside the group came after Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group’s decision last month to ban visiting fans from attending the match. The decision was widely criticized, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and prompted Maccabi to say their fans would not travel to the match.

The ban came at a time of heightened worries about antisemitism in Britain following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue earlier this month and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sports boycott of Israel over the war against Hamas in Gaza.

West Midlands Police said it had deemed the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents,” including violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.