In a surprising turn of events, West Midlands Police have acknowledged that they “overstated the evidence” used to justify banning Israeli fans from attending a Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa in Birmingham last November.
The admission comes as the force’s former chief constable, Craig Guildford, retired earlier this month following intense criticism over the controversial ban. In newly released documents, the police force also said it “did not engage early enough with the local Jewish community” and indicated that its use of AI technology had included a non-existent fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham.
The decision to prohibit Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the match was made by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), whose members include Birmingham City Council. The police force has now accepted that it should have contacted other police forces that had previously hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv matches, and that its discussions with Dutch police should have been recorded.
Furthermore, the documents reveal that the original plan was for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend the fixture, and that the decision to enforce the ban was only reached later. The force also stated that its operations would have lasted four days, involved multiple forces, and cost more than £5 million if 2,500 away fans had attended.
In a letter to the Home Affairs Committee, Guildford attributed the erroneous reference to a non-existent fixture to the use of the AI tool Microsoft Copilot during the evidence-gathering process. The force has now undertaken a review of its use of AI and has blocked access to Microsoft Copilot on its systems until further notice.
The documents also indicate that former Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was briefed by Guildford ahead of the match, and that the working assumption at that time was that the Maccabi fans would be banned, subject to the SAG’s decision. However, Mahmood has stated that she did not seek to influence the decision, as it was “of national and international importance.”
The release of these documents comes ahead of a public meeting on Tuesday, where Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Simon Foster, will discuss the decision to ban the Maccabi fans at his accountability and governance board.
