A Birmingham-based British Islamic preacher has urged his followers to show ‘no mercy’ to Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans if they visit the city next month – amid mounting fury at the police’s decision to ban them from an Aston Villa game.
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned a decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from the match amid public safety fears, which has caused a huge political backlash.
Prince William, patron of the Football Association and one of Villa’s most famous fans, also faced pressure today to speak out against the deeply controversial decision ahead of the Europa League match at Villa Park in Birmingham on November 6.
There was further fury when the ban was supported by several left-wing pro-Gaza MPs who accused Tel Aviv fans of being ‘violent’ – claims denied by the club.
Senior Government figures will meet later today to ‘see if there’s a way through’ the ban, and the West Midlands police and crime commissioner called for an ‘immediate review’ into the decision made by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).
Today, it was revealed Muslim influencer Asrar Rashid had told a lecture that ‘mercy has its time and place’ – but not when the match takes place at Villa Park.
Mr Rashid was speaking in Amsterdam on October 1, a fortnight before the deeply controversial ban on Israeli fans attending the match was imposed yesterday.
The preacher told Maccabi Tel Aviv fans that ‘we will not show them rahma’ – referring to an Arabic word meaning mercy, compassion and love in the Islamic faith.
Mr Rashid, from the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham, often posts videos of his talks on social media and spoke under the title ‘The Responsibilities of Muslims In Europe’.
He said: ‘Imagine the Muslims were known to have the integrity that we not only safeguard those who are vulnerable, we safeguard women from such exploitation.
‘We safeguard the vulnerable from any type of exploitation. That is the character of a Muslim. A Muslim has rahma. Remember rahma is in its place, it’s in its place when the Tel Aviv fans come to Birmingham in a few weeks.
Asrar Rashid speaks in Amsterdam on October 1 on ‘The Responsibilities of Muslims In Europe’
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at a Europa League match at PAOK in Thessaloniki on September 24
‘We will not show them rahma in Birmingham, but it has its time and place, yes? So in the Hadith it states: ‘Those who show mercy, the merciful will show… have mercy on those on the earth. The one in the heavens will have mercy on you’.
‘So mercy has its time and place, protecting the weak, protecting the vulnerable. Not taking advantage of people. Having integrity and having mercy.’
He then went on to describe a hypothetical situation of meeting an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and charging them ‘riba’ – an Arabic word meaning ‘to increase’ or ‘to exceed’ which often refers to unjust or exploitative gains from interest on loans.
Mr Rashid said: ‘If you meet an IDF soldier, and you charge him riba – there is no riba. You can take from him. Take, not give. How will that happen, you may think? This IDF soldier comes to Amsterdam to support whatever team they support.
‘You support Ajax, the team called Ajax. [To the audience] Name the non-Jewish team? Like in England, we have Celtic in Scotland, Celtic. You meet this IDF guy, and you know your team is going to win, and you say: ‘Okay, if they win, you got to give me $10,000.’
‘Your team wins, you take the $10,000 from him. Is it haram? The answer is ‘no.’ If your team loses, you don’t pay him. That is the ruling. That applies to people like the IDF.
‘But does it apply to the honest Dutchman who’s an honest person, a nice man who doesn’t have any enmity against Islam? And there are so many Europeans like this, that we as Muslims must be upright role models for Muslims and non-Muslims living in Europe, in order that they know the true image of Islam.
‘That is why not only the people in this hall and so many others have a responsibility for this. This is the responsibility for all the million Muslims living in Europe today.’
His video was condemned online today after it was highlighted earlier this month by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a think tank based in Washington DC.
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv before their match against Ajax in Amsterdam on November 7, 2024
The group was founded by Israeli analysts who translate speeches from Arabic and other languages for Western audiences, although critics including Mr Rashid have accused it of promoting a pro-Israel agenda.
In response to the backlash, Mr Rashid re-posted his video on X with the caption: ‘I stand by the fact that IDF are shameless murderous foul beings.
‘Here is the full clip to what I said regarding IDF soldiers visiting Birmingham at the Aston Villah [sic] stadium. A clip posted by the Mossad Memri TV. Typical Judeo-Christian Zionist propaganda in action.’
Mr Rashid has previously been filmed making divisive comments, including in July when he addressed anti-Israel protestors on the streets of Birmingham.
A video showed him saying: ‘We take up armed struggle and we are not ashamed of it. We have jihad in our Koran, and jihad is standing up against oppression.
‘What the Palestinian people are doing today is armed struggle, to stand up to the bankers’ state, which is known as Israel.’
In another video posted to his YouTube channel in June 2022, Mr Rashid said: ‘By the 1940s, Hitler did a favour for the Jews that the Jews now were favoured by Europe’.
He added that Jews ‘held all the politicians in their pockets’ after the Holocaust.
It comes after Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group – responsible for issuing safety certificates for every match at Villa Park – decided no Maccabi Tel Aviv away fans will be permitted to attend.
But the move has sparked outrage from politicians, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir, and British Jewish leaders.
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration in Amsterdam, lighting up flares and chanting slogans ahead of their Europa League match against Ajax on November 7, 2024
It was also branded a ‘national disgrace’ by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and a ‘shameful decision’ by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Uefa, which runs the Europa League, urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could attend the match.
Meanwhile there were calls for a statement to be made by the Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Football Association and one of Villa’s most famous fans.
The Daily Mail has contacted Kensington Palace to establish whether William will be commenting.
William is not expected to attend the match because he is already scheduled to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Brazil on November 5.
West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster called for Birmingham council officials and West Midlands Police to review the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
In a statement, he said: ‘The safety and security of all the people and communities of the West Midlands, including visitors to the West Midlands, is my top priority. That is absolute, unconditional and non-negotiable.
‘I have today requested Birmingham City Council Safety Advisory Group (SAG) and West Midlands Police (WMP) convene a special SAG at the earliest possible opportunity and conduct an immediate review of the decision to prohibit the attendance of away fans at the football match between Aston Villa FC v Maccabi Tel Aviv FC, on Thursday November 6.
‘The purpose of my request for a review is to enable the SAG and WMP to determine whether or not this decision and recommendation is appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. That must include consideration of all and any suitable alternative options.
‘My request for a review of this decision has included a request for immediate sight of the written decision and recommendation of the SAG, the event operational plan, the assessment carried out by WMP and any other documentation relevant to the decision and recommendation.
Aston Villa fan Prince William speaks with chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer during a visit to the London Ambulance Service at its headquarters in Waterloo this morning
‘The purpose of my request for sight of this documentation is to satisfy myself on an evidence-led and informed basis as to whether or not this decision and recommendation is appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, including whether all and any suitable alternative options have been considered.
‘However, let me be clear: any decision or recommendation is ultimately a matter for the Birmingham City Council SAG and the independent, objective and impartial operational policing judgment of West Midlands Police.
‘I repeat, the safety and security of all the people and communities of the West Midlands, including visitors to the West Midlands, is my top priority.
‘That is absolute, unconditional and non-negotiable.’
Richard Parker,Labour & Co-op Mayor of the West Midlands, also tweeted today: ‘Football is about bringing people together. Everyone who loves the game should have the chance to attend.
‘The first priority is the safety of individuals in and around Birmingham and Villa Park – that is paramount. Whilst I respect West Midlands Police, if the Government are willing to support in terms of resource then there should be a review of the decision that has been made.
‘Whilst I don’t oversee policing in the region, I want to work alongside Aston Villa, the Government, the Home Office, the Council and West Midlands Police to broker a solution that keeps the spirit of inclusive and accessible sport alive – whilst ensuring the safety of local people and visitors.
‘I’d like all parties to work together to find a workable solution that can be implemented.’
It came after Sir Keir said on X: ‘This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.’
West Midlands Police said they had classified the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture as high risk based on ‘current intelligence and previous incidents’.
The included ‘violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam’.
However Jack Angelides, the club’s chief executive, said its fans had been victims rather than perpetrators of violence in the Dutch capital.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: ‘What transpired was following the match where there was, it materialised, an organised concerted attack against anyone that was connected with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
‘That includes from ultra fans to families with young children. So to suggest we were the instigators and not the victims is just false.’
He added: ‘But I do think this is an extremely important moment because of what it signifies.
‘I don’t use this term lightly but people ask ”what does anti-Semitism look like?”
‘And it’s often manifested as part of a process, a process in other words small events leading up to something that’s more sinister.’
Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Heskel told the Mail: ‘For the past two years, the police have allowed tens of thousands of Muslims and left-wing activists to march through the streets of London supporting Hamas whilst chanting vile antisemitic slogans without consequence.
‘Never once did they raise safety concerns for the Jewish community and cancel those disgraceful marches. The British government must intervene and overturn this shameful decision regarding Maccabi Tel Aviv.
‘The double standards are appalling. West Midlands Police have admitted that we Jews are not safe in the second largest city in Britain — and that they cannot or will not protect us. This is a dangerous abdication of responsibility.’
The Mail understands Maccabi Tel Aviv are not yet commenting, although could release a statement later.
Maccabi Tel Aviv superfan Gon Soussana, 32, told the Daily Mail ‘It’s crazy that Jewish football fans in 2025 can’t come to the UK and watch their team.
‘We are real Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans – and we saw what happened to us in Amsterdam last year and now we are being told that we are not allowed to come to England. This is insanity.’
He said it was a ‘big red alarm’ and people in the UK were ‘losing your country’.
Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, said: ‘We shouldn’t be banning groups of football fans from Britain because Muslims might get offended.’
Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year before being released in January, and who supports football teams Maccabi Tel Aviv and Tottenham Hotspur, said the decision to ban Israeli fans was ‘outrageous’.
She said: ‘I am shocked to my core with this outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK.
‘Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion, and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite. Shame on you. I hope you come to your senses and reconsider.
‘I do wonder what exactly has become of UK society. This is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying: ‘No Jews allowed’.
‘What has become of the UK where blatant antisemitism has become the norm? What a sad world we are living in.’
Violence between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans erupted around the Europa League match between Dutch club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last year.
Five men were given prison sentences and more than 60 people were detained in the riots, which prompted accusations of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks.
Culture department minister Ian Murray said senior Government figures will meet today to ‘see if there’s a way through’ the ban, describing it as the ‘wrong decision’.
Mr Murray told Sky News: ‘The Prime Minister and the Government have been clear about that. In fact, pretty much every politician has been clear about that.’
He added: ‘It’s just completely and utterly unacceptable, and the Prime Minister has said we will do everything we possibly can to resolve this issue.
‘It’s an operational issue for the police, and Government doesn’t get involved in operational issues for the police.
‘But I know the Culture Secretary of State (Lisa Nandy) will be meeting with the Home Office and other stakeholders today to try and see if there’s a way through this.’
It comes after Mrs Badenoch said on X: ‘This is a national disgrace. How have things come to this?
‘Starmer pledged that Jews are welcome and safe in Britain. That he stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community and will use the full force of his government to prove it.
‘Will he back those words with action and guarantee that Jewish fans can walk into any football stadium in this country?
‘If not, it sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go.’
The Prime Minister, earlier yesterday, said ‘words are not enough, action is what matters’ in tackling antisemitism.
He announced a review of antisemitism in the NHS while on a visit to the Community Security Trust (CST), which provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK.
Government efforts to stamp out antisemitism have been in the spotlight in the wake of the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on October 2 that left two men dead.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took to social media to condemn the decision last night
Figures released by the Home Office last week suggest antisemitic hate crime remains near record levels.
The honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villains supporters’ club, Andrew Fox, said the ban sends a ‘really worrying message’ about British society.
He told the Today programme: ‘Like I said it’s not just about Maccabi Tel Aviv.
‘It’s obviously about much wider issues surrounding the Gaza war, and that sends a really worrying message about British society – that we aren’t civilised enough to have a debate over this without it descending into football violence or violent attacks on fans who are coming from another country just because we disagree with that country’s policies.
‘It just makes a very febrile political situation worse I think.’
The Jewish Leadership Council also criticised the decision, saying: ‘It is perverse that away fans should be banned from a football match because West Midlands Police can’t guarantee their safety.
‘Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors.’
And a spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Aston Villa’s Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv will take place without Israeli fans in attendance — banned from Villa Park on ‘safety’ grounds.
‘This is yet another alarming sign of how British authorities are failing to ensure that Jews can participate safely and equally in public life.
‘Instead of confronting the antisemitic hatred that has made it unsafe for Israeli fans to attend, the response is to exclude the victims. If British police cannot guarantee the safety of Jewish and Israeli fans at a football match, what does that say about the state of policing and public order in this country?’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘A serious mistake by WM Police. You don’t tackle antisemitism by banning its victims. This decision must be reversed.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the move ‘takes racial discrimination to a whole new level’, while an MP in his party, Danny Kruger, said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood should consider sacking the chief constable responsible.
Criticism also came from Israel, with Mr Sa’ar saying: ‘I call on the UK authorities to reverse this coward decision.’
But Ayoub Khan, a close ally of hard-Left former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, backed the ban on ‘violent’ fans and said Sir Keir Starmer was ‘clearly wrong’ to intervene.
The independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr has led calls for the game to be cancelled completely due to the war in Gaza and fears of their the actions of the fans.
He told Newsnight: ‘We cannot conflate anti-Semitism when we look at what some of these fans did in Amsterdam in 2024, the vile chants of racism and hatred, the chants that ‘there are no schools left in Gaza because there are no children left in Gaza’.
Ayoub Khan, the pro-Gaza Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, welcomed the decision and told BBC Newsnight last night that it was ‘only right to take drastic measures’
‘We’re talking about violent fans and the PM should stay out of operational matters. This is not a matter for him sitting in No10 Downing Street, it’s a matter for the local police teams here in Birmingham to make an assessment.
‘We must make sure it is not just residents that are protected and are safe but (Aston Villa) players and staff.’
Mr Khan, along with fellow Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, had initiated a petition calling for the match to be cancelled, held in a third country or played behind closed doors.
The petition said allowing the match to go ahead would send ‘a message of normalisation and indifference to mass atrocities’ and accused Tel Aviv fans of causing ‘serious disruption and violence’ during previous matches.
It said: ‘Their arrival in Aston – a diverse and predominantly Muslim community – poses a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder.’
But Louie French, Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, who told GB News: ‘My personal feeling on this – this man is not fit to be a Member of Parliament of the Great British Parliament.
‘We must be beyond this kind of sectarian hatred we’ve seen spewing across campuses, and marches that we’ve seen week in week out across the country.
‘This has to stop. We’re Great Britain, we’re supposed to be a united country, and we have to move forward.’
He added: ‘It’s the message that it sends to people visiting our country about whether they’re going to be safe.’
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden told Sky News: ‘It’s not just wrong, it’s unbelievable that in this day in our country we’re seeing fans totally singled out.
‘The only time I can remember this happening for years and years and years to see fans from another country banned from a football match.
‘It’s pretty clear – the Prime Minister really should act now. At the end of the day this is not a decision for some officials at a local council.
‘We’ve got a Mayor of the West Midlands who’s responsible for policing overall there, we’ve got a Labour Government here in the UK – they just need to act and ensure that fans can go and this match goes ahead.’
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick wrote on X: ‘Last week I was attacked for pointing out that parts of Birmingham were a failure of integration.
‘But now Israeli football fans are banned from watching their team play at Villa Park as the police can’t guarantee their safety. Maybe I wasn’t wrong after all.’
Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, tweeted: ‘Welcome to modern Britain. Away fans from Israel banned from Villa Park because the police cannot guarantee their safety in Birmingham. I am sad, angry and ashamed.’
Preet Kaur Gill, Labour Co-op MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, also tweeted: ‘I agree with the Prime Minister, banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Villa match is the wrong decision. Football should unite, not divide. Safety matters, but so does fairness.’
However Iqbal Mohamed, independent MP for Dewsbury & Batley, said on X: ‘Thank you all who put the safety of Aston Villa fans, Birmingham residents and the British public above the Zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot in our country.’
And the Green Party’s deputy leader said the Prime Minister’s objection to banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was ‘irresponsible’.
Mothin Ali said: ‘Everyone should be able to feel safe when they attend a football match, that’s non-negotiable.
‘It’s irresponsible for Keir Starmer to question a safety decision of a local authority, especially when he is responsible for their chronic underfunding.’
Mr Ali also called for ‘a sporting and cultural boycott of all Israeli teams, like we saw for South African teams under apartheid’.
He said: ‘Under normal circumstances, supporters from across the fanbase should be allowed to attend and provision taken to ban violent elements, such as the ultras.
‘But these are not normal circumstances: these games are taking place in the context of thousands of civilians being killed in Gaza, the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and the upholding of a system of apartheid.’
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign had called for the match to be cancelled, saying on X: ‘Israeli football teams shouldn’t play in international tournaments whilst it commits genocide and apartheid.’
And a statement from the Youth Front For Palestine group said: ‘This victory is a clear example of pressure working, of the importance of action and unity in fighting against the Zionist entity.
‘This decision demonstrated that there is no business as usual while Israel commits genocide and continues its brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and occupation across Palestine.’
But Simon Johnson, former COO of the Football Association and former CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council, told GB News: ‘I think it is a cowardly and shameful decision and it amounts to mob rule.
‘It means that anybody can make threats against a team and its fans and we now know that the police will cower in front of them on safety grounds and refuse to protect those that are being threatened.
‘To see the local MP crowing about this just shows that the mob has won, and I think that it is a decision that this country should be very ashamed of.’
