Violent Maccabi fans were organised fighters 'linked to IDF', UK police found

Dutch police told their British counterparts that over 200 Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans who wreaked havoc in Amsterdam in November 2024 were "linked to the Israel Defense Forces [IDF]", and that hundreds more were "experienced fighters", "highly organised" and "intent on causing serious violence", Middle East Eye can reveal.

The recent ban on fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv from a 6 November fixture at Aston Villa in Birmingham triggered a political furore and was denounced as antisemitic last month by the British government. 

But the West Midlands Police assessment which led to the ban was based on intelligence provided by Dutch police about the conduct of Maccabi fans during a match in Amsterdam last November.

The Guardian reported on 21 October that the police assessment "concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club".

Now, as the match approaches, MEE can reveal new details of the police assessment which have not been previously reported, and which raise further questions about claims made by government ministers.

This comes days after the police and Birmingham's safety advisory group upheld the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the match – after government criticism – although Maccabi Tel Aviv had eventually decided not to sell tickets to its fans for the fixture.

The original police assessment, seen by MEE, records that Dutch police informed their British counterparts that "over 200" Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam last year were "linked to the Israel Defense Forces", Israel's army.

Read more: Violent Maccabi fans were organised fighters 'linked to IDF', UK police found