From Foreign Policy to Football: Starmer gained nothing from Maccabi intervention

After two years of controversy in regards to the UK government’s failure to act over Israel, last month the government promised at last to do “everything in [its] power” to step in, holding talks “at pace, across government”, examining every option to work towards a peaceful, just resolution.

And overturn the ban on Maccabi fans attending their Aston Villa match in Birmingham.

The Israeli football team has a chequered history. Fans have frequently unfurled racist, anti-Arab banners at games, and mobs of Maccabi Fanatics, the team’s ultra group, have attacked anti-Netanyahu protestors. Just last November, a game against Ajax led to violent clashes in the streets of Amsterdam after fans paraded the city chanting “death to Arabs”, taking down flags and clashing with taxi drivers as they went.

The ban, made by Birmingham’s SAG (Safety Advisory Group) on the 16 October, could have been just another rote football decision, following similar recent bans for other, non-Israeli teams. Instead, the ban became an instant political lightning rod. That evening, Badenoch, Davey, and Farage all released statements opposing the ban, while far-right activist Tommy Robinson posted a picture of himself in a Maccabi kit to "support" the Israeli team (over the British one) the following day. Suddenly, no one was talking about anything else.

The Labour government, despite having known about the ban days in advance, promptly joined the fervour. Starmer called the ban “the wrong decision”, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said that it “chooses exclusion” over proper management. Birmingham’s Labour MPs, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, all either joined the attack or stayed silent. Offers were made to supply Birmingham with additional resources for policing, and hours of the Commons’ time was dedicated to the debate. All this for a football game over which the government has no jurisdiction. 

Whether or not the ban was the right call, to associate it with antisemitism is to conflate Israeli and Jewish identity, to ignore the frequency of Maccabi-related incidents, and to prioritise the enjoyment of another nation’s football fans over the very real possibility of violence at the event. Discrediting the authority of a Labour-controlled council, at a time when Labour is haemorrhaging support, also seems politically unwise.

However, more was at stake than a match. From major MP rebellions, to unenforceable, legally questionable protest bans, to a series of scandals that have forced firings and resignations from government - Starmer’s ship is sinking. This unified mobilisation was an opportunity to reassert its authority, in a manner that requires no legislation, no guaranteed parliamentary approval and no legal action.

Yet in decrying the ban, the government stood against a 42% plurality of public opinion. It disregarded the authority of councils. It prioritised the freedom of Maccabi fans over the safety of locals and attendees. Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes alike are on the rise in Britain; a little rhetorical manoeuvring, and a supportive government could have stood in solidarity with all of Birmingham’s minority populations, keeping the streets of Britain safe for everyone.

Instead, Labour again turned to the right. After years of conflating Israeli and Jewish identity, of turning blind eyes to war crimes and atrocities, of taking stronger and stronger measures to dampen pro-Palestinian protests, Labour has alienated itself from the public majority. As with his “island of strangers” rhetoric on immigration and his flaccid defences of flag-dangling hate-mongers, Starmer has been reduced to clawing support from the right wing: a voter base that has nonetheless stuck with Reform. 

Ultimately, the government’s valiant stance was in vain. Just days later, Tel Aviv police were forced to cancel a derby between Maccabi and rival team Hapoel after rioting fans set off pyrotechnics and smoke grenades on the pitch.

The following day, Maccabi announced that, concerned for “the wellbeing and safety of [Maccabi] fans”, they would not be accepting any ticket allocations. Robinson’s support for Maccabi was the risk factor that finalised the decision. 

On 6 November, in a half-empty arena, Villa won 2-0. 11 arrests were made. No major incidents reported. No comment from Starmer.

In the end, Labour died, pointlessly, on its hill. It picked a fight with Birmingham council, fanned the flames of far-right outrage, and revealed that the full might of the government is no match for a regional SAG and a football club. A beautiful game indeed.