As I sit here in the early hours, something about this story will not let me rest. The decision to bar Israeli football fans from attending the Europa Conference League game at Villa Park has left me deeply uneasy. How has it come to this, that in modern Britain, in a city as diverse and proud as Birmingham, Jewish supporters are being told they cannot watch their own team play?
The official reasoning speaks of safety and security, but the optics tell another story. When you ban fans based on nationality or faith, it becomes a question far bigger than football. This is about who we are as a city and whether we have allowed fear, prejudice, or political calculation to creep into our institutions.
At the centre of this decision sits the Aston Villa Football Club Safety Advisory Group, known as the SAG. This is a body that includes representatives from Birmingham City Council, the police, the fire service, the ambulance service and the football club itself. It is meant to make impartial decisions on match safety. Yet when that decision results in the exclusion of an entire group of Jewish supporters, we are entitled to ask serious questions.
According to Birmingham City Council’s 2025/26 appointments, Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE is listed as one of four members of the Aston Villa Football Club Safety Advisory Group. It is not yet clear whether he took part in or has since stepped away from any discussions leading to the decision to bar Israeli supporters. I will be seeking clarification directly from Councillor Zaffar. I would have done so before writing this article, but as it is around two o’clock in the morning, I thought it best not to disturb him.
Councillor Zaffar has already publicly stated that he will not attend the match. In a heartfelt column for Birmingham Live, he said that his decision was one of conscience, rooted in opposition to what he described as the suffering of Palestinians and the actions of the Israeli government. He made clear that his choice was not about identity or religion but about morality. Few would question his sincerity. Yet his position inevitably invites scrutiny of whether his personal stance, and the emotions it represents, may have influenced the atmosphere within civic circles and, perhaps, within the SAG itself.
Let us be clear: this is not an accusation. It is a call for transparency. Decisions of this kind must be made on objective safety grounds, not shaped by personal belief or political climate. The fact that senior civic figures have remained silent only deepens public concern. I will be submitting Freedom of Information requests to establish who attended the relevant SAG meeting, who voted, and what evidence was presented to justify barring Israeli supporters from attending.
The silence from Birmingham’s civic leaders is striking. Where are the voices of the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Mayor, and local Members of Parliament? Surely they would wish to reassure the public that Birmingham does not, in any way, endorse a policy that effectively excludes Jewish supporters from our city. I intend to ask them all directly, not to inflame but to clarify. Birmingham deserves to know whether this decision was made out of genuine safety concern or out of something more troubling.
Then there is the question of Aston Villa’s American ownership. The club’s owners, deeply connected with US business and sporting circles, now find themselves in an uncomfortable position. The United States has a powerful Jewish lobby, and recent developments in Washington, including President Trump’s much-discussed peace agreement in Gaza, make this issue politically charged. One wonders how Villa’s leadership will navigate this situation and how it will be perceived across the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, on social media, Villa fans appear divided. Some express embarrassment and anger, saying the club should never have allowed such a discriminatory decision. Others, though fewer, defend it as a necessary precaution. Israeli fans, too, have voiced their disappointment, saying they only wished to support their team and had no intention of causing trouble. The tone from both sides is one of sadness, disbelief and hurt.
It is worth remembering that football has always been about unity. It is the great leveller, the common ground that allows people from every background to stand side by side. When we start dividing supporters based on their nationality or faith, we break something fundamental. We risk sending a message that Jewish people, and by extension anyone connected to Israel, are somehow unwelcome or unsafe in our city. That cannot be who we are.
I do not claim to have all the answers tonight. What I do know is that this decision raises serious questions about the culture of decision-making in Birmingham. Who made this call? What advice was given? Were all relevant voices heard? Until we see the minutes, the correspondence, and the reasoning in full, this story will remain one of unease and doubt.
For now, I simply ask for openness and honesty. If this decision was genuinely about safety, then let us see the evidence. If it was not, then let us have the courage to face that truth. Birmingham’s reputation as a tolerant, inclusive and fair-minded city depends on it.
And so, as the city wakes to another day, I will begin seeking answers. Freedom of Information requests will go out. Questions will be asked of councillors, civic leaders and the club itself. Perhaps this will all prove to have been a misunderstanding born of caution. But if not, then we must be brave enough to confront what that says about us.
For now, one simple thought lingers: do not ban the Jews.