Keir Starmer has criticised the decision to ban Israeli fans from attending Aston Villa’s Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv next month.

West Midlands Police has said the fixture at Villa Park on November 6 is classified as ‘high risk’ due to safety concerns.

A police spokesperson said: ‘This decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.

‘Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety.

‘While the safety certificate is issued by Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police supports the decision to prohibit away supporters from attending.’

In response to the decision, Starmer posted on X on Thursday night: ‘This is the wrong decision.

‘We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.

‘The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.’

A statement from Villa on Thursday read: ‘Aston Villa can confirm the club has been informed that no away fans may attend the UEFA Europa League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday, November 6, following an instruction from the Safety Advisory Group.

‘The Safety Advisory Group (SAG) are responsible for issuing safety certificates for every match at Villa Park, based on a number of physical and safety factors.

‘Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG have formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture.

‘West Midlands Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night.

‘The club are in continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities throughout this ongoing process, with the safety of supporters attending the match and the safety of local residents at the forefront of any decision.’

Last November, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were attacked in Amsterdam after the club’s Europa League game against Ajax.

Before the match, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were filmed cheering as a large Palestinian flag was taken down from a building in the city centre, while a clash between fans and a group of taxi drivers was also reported.

One person who attended the pro-Palestine demonstration before police intervened told Dutch broadcaster AT5 that the video which showed Maccabi Tel Aviv fans removing the Palestinian flag had ’caused a lot of anger’.

Ajax fans were angered moments before kick-off inside Johan Cruyff Arena as Maccabi Tel Aviv’s supporters disrupted a minute’s silence which was held in memory of the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia.

Dutch police escorted Maccabi Tel Aviv’s supporters from the stadium to busses and train stations after the match but isolated Israelis travelling away from the main group of fans were attacked on the streets.

Last month, fans of Greek side PAOK held up a banner which read ‘stop genocide’ during their Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Earlier this week, Israel’s national anthem was whistled and booed by Italy supporters during their World Cup qualifier.

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Brighton will give a guard of honour to Tottenham following their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final this week.

Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a trophy as Brennan Johnson’s goal sealed a historic win for Ange Postecoglou’s side in Bilbao.

The newly crowned Europa League winners host Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday and could end the campaign in 14th place if they win and Manchester United, West Ham and Wolves all fail to pick up three points.

As it stands, Spurs sit 17th in the Premier League but they will receive a guard of honour from Brighton’s players when they walk out onto the pitch for Sunday’s game.

Typically, a guard of honour in a Premier League match is only reserved for the domestic champions and Liverpool have enjoyed that gesture in their games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton this month.

However, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler believes Spurs’ success in a European competition also needs to be recognised.

‘Like we did against Liverpool, if great clubs achieve great things then it’s always a positive thing and also if English clubs achieve great things in the international cups,’ Hurzeler said.

‘I’m very happy for them. Of course, they deserve it, so we will do it.’

Hurzeler also paid tribute to Postecoglou and says the 59-year-old is a role model.

‘I’m happy for [Postecoglou] because he’s a very good guy. He deserves it,’ Hurzeler said.

‘He has a lot of pressure and how he deals with it, I think he’s a role model for young coaches as well, like me.

‘I’m very happy for him. I know that he worked hard for this and what I really like is that he said already in September after a game against Arsenal [that he wins trophies in his second season].

‘He’s a man who can look into the future and that’s something very impressive.’

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Brighton will give a guard of honour to Tottenham following their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final this week.

Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a trophy as Brennan Johnson’s goal sealed a historic win for Ange Postecoglou’s side in Bilbao.

The newly crowned Europa League winners host Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday and could end the campaign in 14th place if they win and Manchester United, West Ham and Wolves all fail to pick up three points.

As it stands, Spurs sit 17th in the Premier League but they will receive a guard of honour from Brighton’s players when they walk out onto the pitch for Sunday’s game.

Typically, a guard of honour in a Premier League match is only reserved for the domestic champions and Liverpool have enjoyed that gesture in their games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton this month.

However, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler believes Spurs’ success in a European competition also needs to be recognised.

‘Like we did against Liverpool, if great clubs achieve great things then it’s always a positive thing and also if English clubs achieve great things in the international cups,’ Hurzeler said.

‘I’m very happy for them. Of course, they deserve it, so we will do it.’

Hurzeler also paid tribute to Postecoglou and says the 59-year-old is a role model.

‘I’m happy for [Postecoglou] because he’s a very good guy. He deserves it,’ Hurzeler said.

‘He has a lot of pressure and how he deals with it, I think he’s a role model for young coaches as well, like me.

‘I’m very happy for him. I know that he worked hard for this and what I really like is that he said already in September after a game against Arsenal [that he wins trophies in his second season].

‘He’s a man who can look into the future and that’s something very impressive.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ange Postecoglou has urged Tottenham’s hierarchy to sign players with ‘experience’ in the summer transfer window.

Spurs head into Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season at home to Brighton on a high following their 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.

Postecoglou, who has ended Spurs’ 17-year wait for a trophy, admitted after the victory in Bilbao that he sacrificed the team’s Premier League campaign in order to focus on winning the Europa League.

Spurs have been hampered by multiple injuries to key players this season, forcing Postecoglou to heavily rely on 19-year-old duo Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, who were both signed last summer with no Premier League experience.

Postecoglou, who suggested during Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday that he is staying for a third campaign, believes the club now need to add more seasoned players to his squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next term.

‘You learn from every season,’ Postecoglou said ahead of Spurs’ game against Brighton.

‘Looking back at our pre-season last year, I don’t think it was ideal and there were certain things we needed to do differently, and certainly design differently for the coming year, how we get our guys ready for the biggest challenge of Premier League and Champions League football, we know it’s a massive challenge.

‘I think our players will be better equipped. People forget, we signed Dom [Solanke] who has been unbelievable for us but then we signed three teenagers, they weren’t ready for what was ahead. They’ve been unbelievable, obviously Wilson [Odobert] has missed a lot of the season but Lucas and Archie [have been] unbelievable.

‘We signed three teenagers and the start of next year they’re not going to be teenagers, they’re more than ready so we’ll be in a better space straight away.

‘That’s the other lesson learned, I don’t think it would be my sort of direction, you need to now bring in some experience for this group in terms of our recruiting. So that changes, you learn some lessons from that as well.

‘I said all along, I have still felt there has been growth this year and we’ll be much better placed at the beginning of next year to tackle what’s ahead than we were at the start of this one.’

Postecoglou also said he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the thousands of supporters who attended Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday.

‘Come Monday, I won’t have a care in the world, but I assume I’ll have an indication at some point. Only because you know there’s some serious planning to do more than anything else, but I won’t have any problem switching off,’ Postecoglou said.

‘I was overwhelmed by the sea of people and every demographic you can think of. There were grown men crying, women, girls and boys just so ecstatic.

‘When you see the sheer magnitude of the numbers, you realise it is a massive club.

‘I had a sense of that before I joined but I guess even for the club itself, it reaffirms that missing piece of success and what it can do to galvanise a supporter base and really show the size of the club.

‘It’s fair to say it is a massive club and the opportunity now is to make it bigger than ever.’

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Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ange Postecoglou has urged Tottenham’s hierarchy to sign players with ‘experience’ in the summer transfer window.

Spurs head into Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season at home to Brighton on a high following their 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.

Postecoglou, who has ended Spurs’ 17-year wait for a trophy, admitted after the victory in Bilbao that he sacrificed the team’s Premier League campaign in order to focus on winning the Europa League.

Spurs have been hampered by multiple injuries to key players this season, forcing Postecoglou to heavily rely on 19-year-old duo Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, who were both signed last summer with no Premier League experience.

Postecoglou, who suggested during Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday that he is staying for a third campaign, believes the club now need to add more seasoned players to his squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next term.

‘You learn from every season,’ Postecoglou said ahead of Spurs’ game against Brighton.

‘Looking back at our pre-season last year, I don’t think it was ideal and there were certain things we needed to do differently, and certainly design differently for the coming year, how we get our guys ready for the biggest challenge of Premier League and Champions League football, we know it’s a massive challenge.

‘I think our players will be better equipped. People forget, we signed Dom [Solanke] who has been unbelievable for us but then we signed three teenagers, they weren’t ready for what was ahead. They’ve been unbelievable, obviously Wilson [Odobert] has missed a lot of the season but Lucas and Archie [have been] unbelievable.

‘We signed three teenagers and the start of next year they’re not going to be teenagers, they’re more than ready so we’ll be in a better space straight away.

‘That’s the other lesson learned, I don’t think it would be my sort of direction, you need to now bring in some experience for this group in terms of our recruiting. So that changes, you learn some lessons from that as well.

‘I said all along, I have still felt there has been growth this year and we’ll be much better placed at the beginning of next year to tackle what’s ahead than we were at the start of this one.’

Postecoglou also said he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the thousands of supporters who attended Spurs’ trophy parade on Friday.

‘Come Monday, I won’t have a care in the world, but I assume I’ll have an indication at some point. Only because you know there’s some serious planning to do more than anything else, but I won’t have any problem switching off,’ Postecoglou said.

‘I was overwhelmed by the sea of people and every demographic you can think of. There were grown men crying, women, girls and boys just so ecstatic.

‘When you see the sheer magnitude of the numbers, you realise it is a massive club.

‘I had a sense of that before I joined but I guess even for the club itself, it reaffirms that missing piece of success and what it can do to galvanise a supporter base and really show the size of the club.

‘It’s fair to say it is a massive club and the opportunity now is to make it bigger than ever.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Alejandro Garnacho ahs been told by Ruben Amorim to find a new club (NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

Ruben Amorim has told Alejandro Garnacho he has no future at Manchester United and to find a new club this summer, according to reports.

Garnacho …

The Wolves star was keen for Champions League football.

The Wolves star was keen for Champions League football.