Israeli cancellation of Maccabi Tel Aviv game over violence exposes misuse of anti-Semitic narrative

Since last week, there’s been an uproar among the Israelis over the decision of UK authorities to ban fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football club from attending a match with British rivals Aston Villa in Birmingham on November 6.

Israeli supporters and commentators were quick to frame the move as anti-Semitic, even though British police categorically stated that it was trying to avoid a repeat of the violence that was seen in Amsterdam last year when Maccabi fans went on a violent rampage.

Now, the anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish narrative has been turned over on its head by none other than the Israeli authorities.

A match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi was cancelled on Sunday after violent riots broke out in and around Bloomfield Stadium, with Israeli police citing "public disorder and serious violence".

According to police, 12 civilians and three officers were injured, and nine arrests were made after fans threw smoke grenades and pyrotechnic devices.

"Disorderly conduct, riots, injured police officers, and damage to infrastructure — this is not a soccer game, this is a breach of order and serious violence," police said in a statement.

The Israeli Premier League fixture, shared between both clubs, was abandoned before kickoff as authorities struggled to contain the clashes.

UK ban on Maccabi fans

Aston Villa had cited safety concerns raised by local authorities behind its decision to bar Maccabi supporters from attending their UEFA Europa League match in Birmingham next month.

"No away fans may attend the match following instruction from the Safety Advisory Group," Aston Villa said on Thursday, adding that it had been in consultation with UEFA and the Israeli club.

The decision drew outrage from pro-Israel commentators and lobby groups, who accused British authorities of "capitulating to antisemitism" and unfairly targeting Israeli fans.

But Sunday's riots in Tel Aviv have cast doubt on those claims, revealing that the very fanbase being defended abroad has been linked to violent and disorderly conduct at home.

Double standards

Several journalists and public figures have since highlighted how the episode exposes double standards in the way pro-Israel narratives are framed, particularly in UK media and politics.

"There's been a huge effort to use the banning of violent Israeli football 'fans' to again push the false claim that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic," Richard Burgon, Labour Member of Parliament for Leeds East, wrote on X.

"This news exposes how absurd that campaign has been," he wrote, pointing out the Israeli ban on the Maccabi match.

Miqdaad Versi, media spokesperson for the Muslim Council — a community for British Muslims — noted: "The latest violence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was so bad that there was 'risk to human life' & the Tel Aviv derby was cancelled by the police! The lack of even the slightest scepticism at the pro-Israel narrative was disappointing."

Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo News, commented: "Think about how much the UK media has gaslit us over the past few days. It was never about antisemitism, it was about Israeli football hooligans."

Pattern of false claims

The controversy over the Tel Aviv riots mirrors another recent episode in the UK, where pro-Israel accounts falsely claimed that Metropolitan Police officers had arrested a Jewish person at a pro-Palestine protest simply for wearing a Star of David necklace.

The Met Police later denied the claim, clarifying that the man had been detained for repeatedly breaching protest conditions under the Public Order Act and not for his religious symbol.

Posting on X, the Met said: "The claim this man was arrested for wearing a Star of David necklace is not true. He was arrested for repeatedly breaching Public Order Act conditions that were in place to keep opposing protest groups apart."

The police said the man, who described himself as an "independent legal observer", had crossed into an opposing protest area multiple times and provoked reactions despite repeated warnings.

"We need a rational discussion about how it's in the interests of pro-Israel cheerleaders to keep Jewish people in Britain and the wider diaspora in a state of panic — and that involves whipping up hysteria over lies," journalist Owen Jones said on X.