Hapoel Tel Aviv criticised the derby cancellation, accusing Israeli police of “making ready for a conflict, not a sporting occasion”, together with throughout discussions within the lead-up to the highly-anticipated match.
“The surprising occasions outdoors the stadium and following the reckless and scandalous choice to not maintain the match solely display that the Israel Police has taken management of the game,” Hapoel Tel Aviv mentioned in a press release on X, exterior.
Maccabi Tel Aviv has not but commented, besides to verify the match was cancelled.
The choice by Birmingham’s Security Advisory Group (SAG) to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv followers from the Aston Villa match on 6 November has sparked widespread criticism.
The UK authorities has since mentioned it’s working to overturn the ban and exploring what further assets may be required to make sure the fixture may be hosted safely.
Villa instructed their matchday stewards that they didn’t need to work on the sport, saying they understood that some “might have issues”.
On Thursday, West Midlands Police mentioned it supported the ban and categorised the fixture as “excessive threat” primarily based on intelligence and former incidents.
That included “violent clashes and hate-crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv followers earlier than a match in Amsterdam in November 2024, when greater than 60 individuals have been arrested.
There have been protests at varied sporting occasions over the conflict in Gaza, together with when Israel performed Norway and Italy in latest soccer World Cup qualifiers.
