UPDATE 1-Soccer-Maccabi Tel Aviv refuse away tickets for Aston Villa Europa League match

(Adds details) Oct 20 (Reuters) – Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday. The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine. "From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context," Maccabi said in a statement. "We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future." Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park. West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, cpast incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as "shameful". Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds. (Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City, editing by Ed Osmond)

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