Five remain in custody after Villa-Maccabi match passes without serious disorder

West Midlands Police have thanked the community living around Villa Park after the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv passed off without serious disorder.

Officers said five suspects including two men accused of racially aggravated public order offences are still being held after a total of 10 arrests were made outside the ground on Thursday.

An operation involving more than 700 officers achieved its aim of keeping fans safe, the West Midlands force said.

It said in a statement: “Our operation to police the Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv passed without major incident, with no serious disorder and no disruption to the game.

“We can now confirm that a total of 10 arrests were made for a variety of offences in the area, including racially aggravated abuse towards both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups.

“Today, five remain in custody, including a man aged 21 accused trying to throw fireworks into the ground and two men aged 34 and 29 accused of racially aggravated public order after shouting abuse at pro-Israel demonstrators.

“Two people were cautioned and two were released with no further action.

“A 21-year-old man was charged with failing to remove a face covering during a Section 60.”

The policing operation, which monitored a pro-Gaza protest and a gathering opposing antisemitism on opposite sides of the stadium, involved officers from than 20 police forces.

Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce, of Birmingham Police, said: “A huge amount of planning went into the operation, with the aim of preventing crime and disorder and disruption to the game, and keeping everyone safe.

“The operation achieved its aims of keeping everyone in attendance safe, and this is down to the hard work of all the officers and staff, from West Midlands Police and other forces around the country.

“People were able to exercise their right to protest, whilst others came to enjoy a football game, and we have already had some positive feedback from members of the public who were there.

“Our work to listen to the concerns of Birmingham will continue, and we remain proud to serve such a diverse region.

“We’d like to thank the people living in and around Aston who have worked with us closely in the build-up to the game.”

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group advised that away fans should be banned from the fixture, where crowds outside the ground were monitored by a fixed wing aircraft from the National Police Air Service.