A Birmingham City councillor who claims to be “appointed on to the Safety Advisory Board at Aston Villa FC” – the club at which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are banned next month – said that he would be boycotting the match in opposition to the Israeli government.
There is no central register of members of Safety Advisory Groups in Birmingham. Aston Villa FC published a statement last night:
“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.”
Labour Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE’s register of interests, dated 10 February 2025, states his membership of the Aston Villa board. He wrote in Birmingham Live last month:
“We have made a difficult and deeply personal decision: we will not be at Villa Park for the visit of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Our choice stems from a place of conscience. We simply cannot sit and watch a football team from a state whose government is perpetrating what we and many others view as a humanitarian crisis, with the killing of thousands of innocent children and civilians in Palestine.
The starvation, torture and killing of the people of Palestine carried out by the Israeli government and military have crossed many red lines for a very long time.”
Zaffar, a former chairman of Birmingham City Council’s social cohesion group, was reprimanded by the Labour Party in 2016 for comments on Israel. Speaking at a “Free Gaza” protest in 2014, he backed a boycott of Israel: “We need to ensure that there is a clear list of companies that are supporting the Zionists out there in Israel. We need to continue to boycott them.” In a 2016 open letter to Ruth Jacobs, of the Birmingham and West Midlands Jewry Representative Council, Zaffar said: “Palestinian violence has been a reaction to Israeli oppression and violence. Even when Palestinians protest peacefully, they are shot and often killed or maimed by the Israeli armed forces.” Labour said: “These views are not shared by the Labour party and Councillor Zaffar has been reminded of his responsibilities as a Labour councillor”…
Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton publicly opposes the Safety Advisory Group’s decision and said he is “asking that they urgently review their decision.” The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has requested an “immediate review” of the ban decision…
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