Maccabi Tel Aviv fans cheer on team from Israel, disappointed not to be in Birmingham

VIDEO SHOWS: MACCABI TEL AVIV SUPPORTING THEIR TEAM FROM ISRAEL AFTER NOT BEING ALLOWED TO TRAVEL TO BIRMINGHAM FOR THE MATCH AGAINST ASTON VILLA CORRECTION – RESENDING TO CORRECT PERSON'S NAME IN SHOT 2 SHOWS: HOLON, ISRAEL (NOVEMBER 6, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. VARIOUS OF MACCABI TEL AVIV FANS CHEERING ON THEIR TEAM IN THEIR EUROPA LEAGUE MATCH AWAY TO ASTON VILLA FROM BAR AT HOTEL 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACCABI TEL AVIV FAN, LIRAN STRAUBER, SAYING: “You can go to the theatre without the crowd, with empty chairs. You can go up with the show. No, you can't. Same same. Without the go to play football game, without your supporters, without your fans. It's the same thing.'' 3. FANS REACTING TO MATCH 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACCABI TEL AVIV FAN, LOFAL NOACH, SAYING: “It's a weird decision. I don't want to say like, miserable decision to let the terror supporters win. And I think that in every… in any occasion when the police says 'we can't protect people, so we prefer them not to come'. I think it's… it's a disgrace. And especially in England, I've been to many football games in England over like 200 games. Wembley to the eighth and ninth division. I've never seen it like this. The police is always there. The police always does their job. So I want to believe that it's not that the police can't do their job. I think police just prefer not to have Jews in Birmingham at this time." 5. FANS DURING THE MATCH 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACCABI TEL AVIV FAN, YOTAM APELBAUM, SAYING: “Soccer should(n't) be political, soccer is a game for all, for people. It's about love, loving the game, loving the people. So when we heard that Aston Villa won't get Macabi fans to London, to England, we were very, very disappointed because the first time we were very happy. We didn't know that there will be any problems. We were really disappointed because, you know, now we were in Israel watching the game. But of course we want to be in Aston Villa and have a great game, a great feeling, and you know feel all the vibe there, I hope. I'm sure it was lovely. We can't be there. So it's really disappointing.'' 7. VARIOUS OF FANS WATCHING THE GAME FROM BAR AT HOTEL  STORY: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Israel said they were ''disappointed'' that they could not travel to Birmingham to watch their team play against Aston Villa on Thursday (November 6). With Israeli sports teams a focus for pro-Palestinian protests during the Gaza conflict and Villa initially saying away fans would be barred on police advice, Maccabi reluctantly opted not to accept tickets for visiting supporters.   "It's a weird decision. I don't want to say like, miserable decision to let the terror supporters win,'' said Maccabi Tel Aviv fan Lofal Norach.  Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli supporters demonstrated outside the politically-charged Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday but there were only a handful of arrests as the game was played without major disruptions. The match, which the hosts won 2-0, at Villa Park, Birmingham was held under a massive security operation. Six people were arrested prior to kickoff, according to West Midlands Police, including a 21-year-old man for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, and a 17-year-old boy for failing to comply with a dispersal order. Three others were arrested for racially aggravated public offences and one person for a breach of the peace. Despite fears of violent clashes after the match was classified as "high risk," the protests remained largely peaceful after police had deployed more than 700 officers in the center of Birmingham, which has a large Muslim population, and around the stadium. (Production: Rami Amichay, Stefan Haskins)

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