Standing with Maccabi’s football hooligans against local police – is that what patriotism looks like now?
JVL Introduction
Jonathan Liew is spot on in his analysis of the furore over the decision to ban Maccabi’s fans from attending their game against Aston Villa on 6th November.
In Israel, Liew points out, there is no attempt to separate politics and football. They are openly, deeply intertwined: what we are facing, with Maccabi is not “your common or garden football hooliganism… Rather, it is the prospect of targeted, politicised footballing violence”.
It is not unheard of for football teams and travelling supporters to be banned from attending certain games.
None has given rise to more than occasional grumbling. People are aware that football games have historically often been quite violent occasions and policing decisions on these are generally accepted.
Yet on this occasion almost the entire political class rose up to protest about what was essentially a police and a safety decision, all jumping on the bandwagon of antisemitic accusations surrounding the decision.
“We are expected to believe,” says Liew, “in the existence of a hostile antisemitic conspiracy co-hatched by the police and the residents of Birmingham.”
He sums it all up:
“Choosing to stand with the far-right foreign football hooligan against the local police force: this, apparently, is what British patriotism looks like in 2025. Truly, we are through the looking-glass here.”
RK
This article was originally published by the Guardian on Tue 21 Oct 2025. Read the original here.
Standing with Maccabi’s football hooligans against local police – is that what patriotism looks like now?
Tommy Robinson is said to be going to Villa Park as a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan. Do the politicians jumping on this bandwagon care what they are doing
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The UK government is playing a dangerous game by blindly supporting Israel irrespective of the impact on social cohesion in the UK. Professional racist Yaxley-Lennon is backed by Elon Musk who has urged the 42 year old child grifter and his supporters to take to the streets. What is Starmer waiting for?
I really hope it’s a very poor error of judgement and ignorance that led to them wanting this vile racism on the streets of Birmingham. Those chants and songs alone should be enough to merit a ban on international participation but that’ll never happen, obviously.
Hopeless twerp Starmer has made another bad error of judgement. But so have his supporters of the manipulated to be predominant Labour right. And so say all of us say the other right-wing parties: Conservative, Lib-Dem etc and the predominantly right-wing establishment mass media. Twerps all.
This excellent JVL-posted article talks about Israeli internal political rivalry and professional football at much above my level, It amuses with light irony.
I have no interest in football. My experience is limited to train journeys where all-British football supporters were noisily intimidating and required police attendance, despite which they deliberately blocked toilets. I believe that it is usual to exclude supporters where there is a high risk to others.
The ban is deeply, deeply antisemitic. The team is being banned because they are Jewish end of… The police say they cant ensure the safety of Jewish fans, thats a terrible situation for all Jews in thus country!
I’m sorry Jacob, but in my opinion it is neither bad judgement or ignorance.
Starmer has made much of the fact he is a keen football fan – remember the controversy of him attending Arsenal matches in a private box ‘donated’ by someone? I am not at all interested in football but even I knew the reputation of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
And let us not forget Starmer said in the autumn of last year he was “an unapologetic Zionist”. (sorry I can’t provide a link at the moment but I quite clearly remember it)
As an aside, his actions over this matter give the lie to any claim Starmer might make for ‘democracy’ at any level in his iteration of the Labour Party.
The Maccabi chant is not quite up to the standard of Sheffield United chant
You fill up my senses like a gallon of magnet,
Like a packet of woodbine,
Like a good pinch of snuff
Like a night out in Sheffield
Like a greasy chip butty
You fill up my senses come thrill me again.
To the tune of Annie’s song by John Denver.
Far more civilised. Well done West Mercia Police for working for the general public.