Birmingham braces for 'triple protest' at Villa Park after Islamic preacher's 'show no mercy' threat

Birmingham is bracing for a night of protests after a political firestorm clouded Aston Villa's impending Europa League tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Last week, it emerged that Maccabi fans would be barred from supporting their side on November 6 - sparking a cross-party outcry in Britain and abroad.

Pro-Gaza local MP Ayoub Khan had spearheaded calls to ban both supporters and the team itself over an alleged risk to "community harmony".

West Midlands Police then backed Birmingham City Council in its move to completely ban away fans from attending.

Then, Maccabi themselves decided not to accept their allocation of tickets following "hard lessons learned".

Now, three demonstrations are expected to unfold next month.

One, led by protest group Our Fight, will be carrying placards reading "we stand with British Jews" outside the ground.

A second, potentially led by Tommy Robinson, could unfold in the same place after the activist said on social media: "Who's coming to support Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park on November 6???"

A third could then erupt at the same time - this time, led by Muslim cleric Asrar Rashid, who told followers to "show no mercy" to Maccabi fans.

Mr Rashid, himself based in Birmingham, said in an address: "We will not show mercy to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans travelling to Birmingham for the Aston Villa FC match."

Our Fight's Mark Birbeck told The Telegraph that his demonstrators will have to take the night "very seriously".

"For all we know, we’ll be met off the train by people who don’t agree with our viewpoint," he said, adding that there were "a few" other protest groups which may stand side-by-side with his.

Then, turning to Tommy Robinson, Mr Birbeck added: "Even if he has the best of intentions, it's not going to go well, probably."

Maccabi's decision to reject their ticket allocation is said to have come amid fears Tommy Robinson could "infiltrate" their fans.

Aston Villa then confirmed that only supporters with a purchase history dating back to before the 2025/26 season would be able to buy tickets.

Mr Birbeck added: "We're not looking to have a confrontation with the local community or anything like that. What we'd want to highlight is the antisemitism, the nature of having no-go areas or activities that Jews or Israelis are not welcome at."

His words echoed those of Reform UK MP Danny Kruger, who warned that "if the police could not guarantee the safety of Jewish visitors because of antisemitism among the local Muslim population they should have banned the game itself - not yielded to the mob".

And last October, Maccabi fans fell victim to a "Jew hunt" organised by pro-Palestine mobs in Amsterdam during their fixture against Ajax.

Mr Birbeck has stressed he would be willing to work with West Midlands Police to enable a peaceful protest.

He also revealed that both he and his supporters would be putting their safety at risk by demonstrating outside Villa Park - on the doorstep of one of Britain’s largest Muslim communities in Handsworth.

It was in Handsworth where Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick had provoked the fury of the Prime Minister by saying he "didn't see another white face" in the area.

Mr Jenrick went on to describe Handsworth as "one of the worst integrated places I've ever been to", adding: "That's not the kind of country I want to live in."

After the Villa-Maccabi furore last week, the top Tory suggested he had been vindicated.

"Last week, I was attacked for pointing out that parts of Birmingham were a failure of integration," he said.

"But now, Israeli football fans are banned from watching their team play at Villa Park as the police can’t guarantee their safety.

"Maybe I wasn’t wrong after all."