The independent MP who championed barring Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from next month’s Aston Villa fixture has rejected accusations of antisemitism, insisting his position stems from moral consistency rather than prejudice.
Ayoub Khan, representing Birmingham Perry Barr, faced a barrage of criticism after publicly backing West Midlands Police’s decision to prohibit Israeli fans from attending the 6 November Europa League match at Villa Park on security grounds.
The local politician, who had previously called for the fixture to be cancelled entirely, mounted a robust defence of his stance on Friday, drawing parallels with the sporting ban imposed on Russian teams following the invasion of Ukraine.
Moral Consistency Argument
Speaking to GB News, Khan rejected what he characterised as an echo chamber of criticism, stating he maintained principled opposition to nations engaged in what he views as atrocities participating in international sport.
If I’ve supported the fact that Russian teams were being banned because of the atrocities that are being committed in Ukraine, I have held and maintained the same consistency when it comes to Israel’s Israeli football teams,” Khan argued.
The MP cited what he claimed were devastating losses amongst Palestinian athletes, stating more than 800 sportspeople had been killed in Gaza, including 350 footballers. He specifically referenced a 41-year-old footballer named Salam Soleimani, whom he said was killed whilst waiting for food.
Khan also invoked former Manchester United star Eric Cantona’s calls for boycotting Israeli football teams, suggesting his position enjoyed support from prominent sporting figures who shared concerns about the moral dimensions of Israeli participation in international competitions.
“There is a moral argument and, you know, people will dilute that word. It means very little when all you’ve done is stood up for principle and have been labelled something which you’re not. I’m not a racist,” Khan insisted.
Clash With Prime Minister
The Birmingham MP’s stance placed him in direct confrontation with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who on Thursday evening condemned the ban as wrongheaded and warned against tolerating antisemitism on British streets.
“This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation,” Starmer declared.
Khan fired back, accusing the Prime Minister of overstepping appropriate boundaries by interfering in operational policing matters beyond his expertise.
I don’t think that politicians should get involved in matters that are outside of our expertise,” Khan told GB News. “The fact that the Prime Minister has labelled this decision as antisemitic is disingenuous.”
The MP defended West Midlands Police, praising officers for conducting what he described as an objective analysis of intelligence gathered over several months before concluding the fixture could not be safely policed.
“It’s disingenuous on the great West Midlands Police force we have here and those individuals that participated in that objective analysis of intelligence and information that they must have collected over the last few months and made a finding that this was a match that they could not police to ensure the safety of not just residents, local businesses, private hire drivers, but also fans coming in to the town,” Khan stated.
Maccabi Chief Warns of Dangerous Precedent
Jack Angelides, chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv, delivered a stark warning on Friday that the ban could represent the opening salvo in a more sinister campaign against Jewish supporters.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Angelides acknowledged the authorities’ stated concerns but questioned why British police felt unable to provide adequate protection when the team had safely visited countries with arguably stronger anti-Israeli sentiment.
“To be frank, it’s been met with some dismay about what this is potentially signalling,” Angelides said. “We understand the reasons that have been put to us, which are to do with the feeling that the authorities will not be able to adequately protect our fans who would be attending the match.”
The chief executive drew an ominous parallel, suggesting small exclusions could metastasise into something more threatening. “I don’t use this term lightly, but people ask what antisemitism looks like? Small events, leading up to something more sinister,” he explained.
Angelides highlighted the particular impact on British supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv who hold Jewish faith. We have British Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who are Jewish, and they are being told it is not safe in their own country to watch a football match,” he observed.
The executive noted that Maccabi had travelled to Turkey, where sentiment towards Israeli teams is hardly welcoming, yet Turkish police deployed in force and ensured no incidents occurred. He struggled to comprehend why Birmingham presented insurmountable security challenges.
Political Firestorm Intensifies
The controversy generated fierce cross-party condemnation beyond the Prime Minister’s intervention. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded the situation a national disgrace, questioning how Britain could claim to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community whilst excluding their supporters from sporting events.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared the ban took racial discrimination to entirely new levels, suggesting it represented a capitulation to intimidation rather than effective security management.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey characterised the move as a serious mistake, arguing that tackling antisemitism by punishing its victims constituted precisely the wrong approach.
The Jewish Leadership Council condemned what it described as a perverse outcome where away fans faced exclusion because police could not guarantee their safety, suggesting Aston Villa should face consequences by having the match played behind closed doors entirely if genuine security concerns existed.
Government Scrambles for Solution
Senior cabinet ministers scrambled on Friday to identify potential escape routes from the escalating crisis. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy convened urgent meetings with Home Office officials and other stakeholders aimed at reversing the local decision.
Science and technology minister Ian Murray told Sky News the government would exhaust every possible avenue to resolve the situation. “It’s just completely and utterly unacceptable, and the Prime Minister has said we will do everything we possibly can to resolve this issue,” Murray stated.
A Downing Street spokesman revealed Starmer felt angered by the decision, emphasising that whilst operational policing remained independent, the government retained every right to speak out on fundamental fairness principles.
Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, requested an immediate review to determine whether prohibiting away fans genuinely proved appropriate and necessary. Foster demanded access to the Safety Advisory Group’s written decision, operational plans and police assessments underpinning the determination.
Amsterdam Shadow Looms
West Midlands Police justified classifying the fixture as high risk by pointing to violent clashes and hate crimes during Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Europa League match against Ajax in Amsterdam last year, when more than 60 arrests followed disorder across the Dutch capital.
That incident saw Maccabi supporters attacked in hit-and-run assaults, though subsequent reporting revealed Israeli fans also engaged in provocative behaviour including chanting anti-Arab songs, vandalising taxis and tearing down Palestinian flags.
The Villa Park match represents Maccabi’s first away Europa League fixture since pro-Palestinian protests occurred when the team played PAOK in Thessaloniki, Greece, last month.
UEFA urged British authorities to ensure supporters could travel safely to support their team, stating it wants fans enjoying matches in secure and welcoming environments whilst acknowledging local authorities retain ultimate security responsibility.
The unprecedented situation has exposed deep divisions over where legitimate security concerns end and discriminatory exclusion begins, with millions watching to see whether Birmingham becomes a test case for how Britain balances competing rights and responsibilities when contentious international sporting events collide with domestic tensions.
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Image Credit:
Ayoub Khan — official portrait (cropped), photo by Roger Harris, licensed under CC BY 3.0
