Thousands sign petition urging cancellation of Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match

More than 26,000 people in the United Kingdom have signed a petition calling for the cancellation of Thursday’s football match between British club Aston Villa and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The petition, launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), urges both the Football Association (FA) and European football’s governing body, Uefa, to cancel the game and “take steps to exclude Israel from international football”.

The petition said Maccabi Tel Aviv's actions, including sending care packages to soldiers, show that the team is “directly involved” in Israel’s war on Gaza and allowing Israeli teams to compete “obscures the reality of genocide in Gaza".

It also said, the Israel Football Association includes teams based in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank in violation of Uefa and Fifa rules.