Senior UK Police Official Faces Resignation Calls Over Israeli Fans Ban
The West Midlands Police chief’s decision to bar Maccabi fans from a football match in England last year will be scrutinised at a Home Affairs Committee hearing today.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (C) arrives with West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford to greet members of the West Midlands Police Force at Arden Academy in Solihull, West Midlands, on August 8, 2024.
Joe Giddens / POOL / AFP
The West Midlands Police chief’s decision to bar Maccabi fans from a football match in England last year will be scrutinised at a Home Affairs Committee hearing today.
West Midlands Police fuelled antisemitism when attempting to justify a ban on travelling fans of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv football club from a Europa League match in Birmingham last November.
That is according to campaigners who question the force’s decision to exclude fans based on security concerns due to “previous incidents including violent clashes and hate crime offences.” Officials have also been accused of wrongly appearing to suggest that Jewish leaders were consulted about the ban.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford, among other figures from West Midlands Police and some from Birmingham City Council, is answering questions at a Home Affairs Committee meeting today, on January 6th. That’s just one day after the Palestinian embassy in London was officially inaugurated by Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot, in a further sign of the UK’s slipping ‘support’ for Israel.
Police officials maintain that their ban was enforced because of safety concerns.
But writing in The Spectator, David Spencer, a former Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector, argued that “a resignation [by Guildford] in such circumstances would be the honourable and principled course of action.”
Not just because the wrong original decision was made, but because he has so far failed to fully recognise the gravity of the errors made by his force.
A shadow minister has also asked how Guildford can stay in his role.
Solidarity group Our Fight accused his force of fuelling antisemitism by “casting Jewish and Israeli fans as violent, ‘highly trained’ and ‘anti-Muslim.’” Its director, Mark Birbeck, said ahead of the Home Affairs Committee meeting that “West Midlands Police must be held to account.”
Otherwise this is the death knell of our legal system. I hope everyone who is concerned with two-tier policing will join our protest, and add their voice to ours.
A Sunday Times report claimed over the weekend that West Midlands officers found retrospective ‘intelligence’ to justify the ban after it had already been implemented.
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s next game, against Real Madrid, has likewise caused controversy, with secretary general of the far-left Podemos party Ione Belarra saying on Monday that “everyone must mobilise” to “prevent the genocidaires from continuing to whitewash their image with sports.” The game is set to take place behind closed doors.
Hay que impedir que los genocidas sigan lavando su cara con el deporte. Este jueves 8 hay que impedir que el Maccabi Tel Aviv juegue con el Real Madrid. Todas y todos a movilizarse. pic.twitter.com/6NoznG79nl
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
