Labour’s Lisa Nandy today clashed with the Birmingham MP who has led efforts to halt Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match against Aston Villa.
The Culture Secretary branded Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, as ‘entirely disingenuous’ in a heated House of Commons exchange.
She also promised the Government would find the resources needed to ensure fans of the Israeli club can attend their upcoming Europa League game in Britain.
Ms Nandy and her fellow Cabinet ministers have been scrambling to lift a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attending next month’s match in Birmingham.
It follows the controversial decision by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group – backed by West Midlands Police – to bar away fans from Villa Park on 6 November.
Mr Khan, an ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, last month launched a petition over the upcoming match.
The petition called for the game to be cancelled entirely, relocated to a ‘neutral third country’, or to be held behind closed doors.
It stated the game is ‘not a normal football match’ due to the ‘ongoing genocide in Gaza’, while also expressing fears about a ‘track record of violence’ by Maccabi fans.
Labour’s Lisa Nandy today clashed with the Birmingham MP who has led efforts to halt Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match against Aston Villa
The Culture Secretary branded Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr (pictured), as ‘entirely disingenuous’ in a heated House of Commons exchange
‘Their arrival in Aston – a diverse and predominantly Muslim community – poses a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder,’ added the petition, which was also signed by Mr Corbyn.
Mr Khan later celebrated the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the game as he thanked all those who had backed the petition.
The Government is pressuring West Midlands Police to overturn the decision to ban supporters of the Israeli club from the match amid a widespread outcry.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has branded it the ‘wrong decision’, adding: ‘We will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets.’
But, speaking in the Commons on Monday, Mr Khan hit out at what he claimed was a ‘deliberate, disingenuous move by many to make this a matter of banning Jews’.
‘As the MP for the very area that is set to host this match, and for the community whose public safety many members of this House wish to play fast and loose with, I know the reality on the ground,’ the independent MP said.
‘And I know there has been a deliberate, disingenuous move by many to make this a matter of banning Jews. To conflate matters of policing with those of religion.
‘Just this morning I saw a video of Jewish community leaders standing outside Villa Park saying they too support the banning of this team.
‘Those who are not welcome in Aston are hooligans that have a long history of violence and vile racism.
‘Chants like ‘f*** the Arab’, ‘we will rape their daughters’, ‘there are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left in Gaza’. It is these hooligans that are not welcome.
Ms Nandy also clashed with former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who is currently launching a new political movement known as Your Party with Jeremy Corbyn
The Government is pressuring West Midlands Police to overturn the decision to ban supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv from their match against Aston Villa on 6 November
Mr Khan then asked Ms Nandy: ‘How many millions of British taxpayers’ money is her Government offering to overturn the respected expert judgement of the West Midlands Police and the safety group?’
In her response, the Culture Secretary said she was ‘appalled’ by the ‘specific incidents and chants’ referred to by Mr Khan.
‘I am appalled by those and none of us in this House should seek to condone that in any sense,’ she said.
‘But can I say to him as well that it is entirely disingenuous to say that you respect cohesion and inclusion when you’re seeking to divide and exclude.’
The heated exchange between Mr Khan and Ms Nandy brought a rebuke from Commons deputy speaker Nus Ghani, who said: ‘Can I ask members to temper their language and not accuse each other of being disingenuous.’
Ms Nandy later accused former Labour MP Zarah Sultana of seeking to ‘conflate’ the actions of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans with the actions of the Israeli government.
Ms Sultana, who is currently launching a new political movement known as Your Party with Mr Corbyn, told the Commons: ‘Maccabi Tel Aviv’s racist fan hooliganism cannot be separated from Israeli militarism.
‘Many of these fans are active or former soldiers who have taken part in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
‘They should be investigated for war crimes the moment they set foot onto British soil, not welcomed into our stadiums.
‘And let’s be clear, this Labour Government is no innocent bystander. It has armed Israel’s geonocide.’
But Ms Nandy responded: ‘She is doing the people of Birmingham no favours with that sort of rhetoric.
‘When it comes to the conflation that she makes between all of the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters and the actions of the Israeli government… about blaming in many cases British citizens who happen to support Maccabi Tel Aviv for actions that are taking place in the Middle East.
‘Conflating being Jewish and Israeli, I have to say I’m afraid, is in itself anti-Semitism. I think she should take more care with her remarks.’
Raising a point of order after an urgent question on the Maccabi Tel Aviv match had ended, Ms Sultana said: ‘I clearly stated Maccabi Tel Aviv football team is inextricably linked to the Israeli state, which is an apartheid state.
‘The boycott of apartheid regimes, such as apartheid South Africa, is a legitimate political stance.
‘To label such a position as anti-Semitic, as the Secretary of State did, is entirely false and dangerous.’
Earlier on, Ms Nandy had told MPs that the Government was continuing to work with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council ‘to support them to consider all the options available, and to tell us what resources are needed to manage the risks, to ensure fans from both teams can attend safely’.
‘If the assessment is revised, the safety advisory group will meet again to discuss options,’ the Culture Secretary added.
‘It is not for the Government to assess the risks surrounding this football match.
‘But we are clear that resources will not be the determining factor in whether Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can be admitted, and that this fundamental principle that nobody in our country will be excluded from participating in public life because of who they are must be upheld.’
