[Pierre]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

I think the Police are looking at a bunch of football-following hooligans and seeing them as just that. I don't think they should be given special treatment because of the country they hail from.

I think you have it the wrong way round, the police have based their original decision looking at the safety of the Maccabi fans from pro-Hamas protestors, not from Maccabi football hooligans.

West Midlands Police said they partly based their decision about next month's match on what happened last year, when violent clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli fans erupted around the UEFA Europa League football match between Dutch club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Five men were given prison sentences for attacks on visiting fans in riots denounced as antisemitic by Dutch authorities and foreign leaders, including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.