FANS of an Israeli football team will be heading Aston Villa next month – as the ground can’t be a “no-go area” for Jews, a Cabinet Minister has indicated.
Supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv were all but assured they will be going to the Europa League match with the current ban overturned.
Growing pressure has been building on local authorities in Birmingham after it was announced fans would be banned from going amid safety concerns.
Cops in the West Midlands said the match was high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents”.
But Mr Miliband today told Sky News: “I am giving you a clear indication of what we are working towards, which is that fans from both teams can attend the match.”
When pushed if Villa Park was now a no-go zone for Jews following the decision, he added: “No, and it can’t be, and I’m very, very clear about that.”
He added: “We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country, and we’ve got to stamp out all forms of prejudice, antisemitism, Islamophobia, wherever we find them.”
Miliband was also quizzed about a petition signed by an independent MP Ayoub Khan demanding the match be postponed and a boycott of Israeli teams in the UK.
He said that he “profoundly” disagreed with the comments.
The Cabinet Minister said the “vast majority of Muslim people in this country would disassociate themselves” from suggestions fans could not come to Villa because it was a predominantly Muslim area.
He added that “integration is not something you can ever take for granted”, when asked about concerns that a lack of integration had contributed to the situation.
An action plan from West Midlands police is expected to come out this week. It will list conditions to allow both sets of fans to attend.
Birmingham’s safety advisory group which brings together the council and police force, is expected to raise the issue at a meeting early next week.
Meanwhile, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho described the move to ban the fans as a “disgrace”.
She said cops covered high-profile events such as the Notting Hill carnival.
She said: “What you’ve seen is policing in this country has been able to protect people at the Notting Hill Carnival, where people are routinely injured, it’s protected people through the Palestinian marches.
“Like I said, if you look at the context, I think it’s really important that they do this.”
Number 10 last week said that Sir Keir Starmer was “angered” by the decision to ban the fans.
