BIRMINGHAM (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – More than seven hundred officers were deployed, not so much as security for Aston Villa vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, but for the pro-Palestine demonstrations that took place before last night’s Europa League match (2-0 to the English side). In the end, Birmingham police reported, 11 arrests were made on a tense evening.
In addition to the pro-Palestine sit-ins in front of Villa Park with flags and banners calling for an end to the violence in Gaza, there was also a march to the stadium by a group (smaller in number according to the BBC) of pro-Israel activists who protested the decision to ban visiting fans from entering the stadium (“Ban hate, not fans,” read one banner). “The level of interest and concern about this match has been unprecedented,” admitted the Birmingham police commander, also referring to the many political controversies that preceded the match between England and Israel. Among the 11 arrests, five people were charged with “racially aggravated public order offenses.”
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
