Arrests Made Amid Protests Before Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv Game

Описание: A large police presence and several arrests marked the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park, as pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside the stadium. Hundreds of protesters assembled before kick-off, calling for Israeli football clubs to be banned from European competitions over Israel’s actions in Gaza. More than 700 police officers were deployed to maintain order, and no away fans from Israel were allowed to attend due to security concerns.

READ MORE: Through the gates, from inside the fencing outside the Trinity Road Stand, Aston Villa fans tried to make sense of the action. They had come for a football match but this was two hours before kick-off and on the other side of the fence, a totally different event was being played out. “It’s a Europa League game against a small team,” said one bemused observer, “and it’s been made into this massive thing.”

And so this massive thing came to pass. A comparatively minor date in the football diary, simultaneously a set-piece occasion for racial hatred, the freedom of speech debate, the right (or not) to watch your football team play and the capability of the police to allow it all to happen.

At one point, we were getting teamsheets inside the stadium and updates on police horses moving into formation outside it. To help keep the peace, Maccabi Tel Aviv had been asked to arrive at Villa Park a full five hours before kick-off.

Most significant of all, though, beyond the eventual scoreline inside (2-0) and the rap sheet outside (11 arrests) was the vast swathe of banking at the north corner of the Doug Ellis Stand: completely empty, zero fans, two stewards there to manage a desert.

Through the gates, from inside the fencing outside the Trinity Road Stand, Aston Villa fans tried to make sense of the action. They had come for a football match but this was two hours before kick-off and on the other side of the fence, a totally different event was being played out. “It’s a Europa League game against a small team,” said one bemused observer, “and it’s been made into this massive thing.”

And so this massive thing came to pass. A comparatively minor date in the football diary, simultaneously a set-piece occasion for racial hatred, the freedom of speech debate, the right (or not) to watch your football team play and the capability of the police to allow it all to happen.

At one point, we were getting teamsheets inside the stadium and updates on police horses moving into formation outside it. To help keep the peace, Maccabi Tel Aviv had been asked to arrive at Villa Park a full five hours before kick-off.

Most significant of all, though, beyond the eventual scoreline inside (2-0) and the rap sheet outside (11 arrests) was the vast swathe of banking at the north corner of the Doug Ellis Stand: completely empty, zero fans, two stewards there to manage a desert.

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