Protesters to rally outside Villa Park ahead of Aston Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv match
Thousands of people are expected to gather and protest outside Villa Park tonight, ahead of the club's Europa League fixture against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Kashmir Solidarity Campaign, and Palestinian Forum in Britain have called for the match to be cancelled, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
They have jointly organised a static rally, protesting against the game going ahead, despite Maccabi Tel Aviv fans not being allowed to buy tickets.
The fixture drew international attention after local authorities said that Maccabi fans would be blocked from attending, with West Midlands Police classifying the match as high-risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents.”
West Midlands Police confirmed earlier this week that more than 700 officers will be part of a "large policing operation" tonight.
Naeem Malik, Chair of the West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said:
“The calls to cancel this match have been ignored despite the risks that it carries, therefore we must urge activists to unite against this match... This match should not be allowed to go ahead even without the fans present.”
Rally organisers say they will gather to peacefully chant from 6 p.m. outside the ground.
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