Why there will be more than 700 police at Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel-Aviv?

Birmingham Police commander Ch Supt Tom Joyce said on Monday: “We know protests by different groups will take place on the day, and we have plans in place which balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham.”

According to the 2021 Census, external, the Aston Park area around Villa Park is 70.2% Muslim.

Planned protests at the stadium include one by pro-Palestinian groups, who want the match to be called off. Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Kashmir solidarity campaign and Palestinian Forum in Britain have jointly organised the protest.

There may also be counter-protests in support of Israel.

There have been mass arrests at protests in support of Palestine Action – a British pro-Palestinian group which was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 in July 2025.

There is also the possibility protests may take place inside the ground.

On Wednesday, West Midlands Police wrote on social media that for “supporters attending the fixture on Thursday night, there will be multiple ticket checks on the approach to the stadium”.