Maccabi ban no surprise but very depressing says chair of Villa's Jewish fan group

VIDEO SHOWS: INTERVIEW WITH ELIOT POLLAK, CHAIR OF JEWISH VILLANS, A JEWISH ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS GROUP  RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 17, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)   1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF JEWISH VILLANS, A JEWISH ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS GROUP, ELIOT POLLAK, SAYING:  "I don't think the decision came out of the blue. I know there are a lot of security concerns around the game. The immediate reaction obviously has been, oh, it's a day of shame for Aston Villa. I don't think the club have a choice once the police or the security advice say you can't have a game with away fans then they can't go against that. So I don't have any complaints from the club point of view. And to be honest, I would agree with the decision that to have sort of three or four thousand Jewish people in and around Aston, roaming about throughout a match day and beyond, I don't think they would be safe. But that goes into other issues. It's not really a football issue from that point." 2. WHITE FLASH  3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF JEWISH VILLANS, A JEWISH ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS GROUP, ELIOT POLLAK, SAYING:  "It's very, very depressing, very worrying, but I think if you spoke to anyone Jewish, I don't think they would be surprised or particularly puzzled at that assertion. I mean, I've been going to Aston Villa for, for 30 something years, often with a Kippah, visibly Jewish. I've never had any problems. I don't believe there's anyone associated with Aston Villa who would be attending the game who would have any problems with Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the ground. I think this is an external issue. Villa Park is very much part of the community, it's set within Aston. Anyone who's been will know it's very, very difficult to sort of police off that entire area and fans aren't just going for the game, they're coming, they're flying, they'll be there all day. So the security concerns are very valid and I would probably endorse them wholeheartedly, but I think why have we got to this point where thousands of Jews aren't safe to congregate in the second city?" 4. WHITE FLASH  5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF JEWISH VILLANS, A JEWISH ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS GROUP, ELIOT POLLAK, SAYING:  "The idea that there will be thousands of Israelis flying in for this game is probably a little misleading. I suspect a lot of the tickets, away tickets, will be bought by Jewish people within London, Birmingham, Manchester who have an opportunity to have an Israeli flag in a public space, be proud of their identity, their Jewish identity, be proud of Israel and would go. I know lots of people had asked me about the game who who weren't Israeli, weren't Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, supported other clubs in England, but wanted to go to the game as an opportunity in the same way if a Turkish club came, the Turkish diaspora would etc. So this idea that we're only discriminating against Israelis here is completely untrue. A vast swathe of that support would be Jewish people from the United Kingdom." 6. WHITE FLASH  7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR OF JEWISH VILLANS, A JEWISH ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS GROUP, ELIOT POLLAK, SAYING:  "I'm pretty sure now the Prime Minister's weighed in, obviously Aston Villa also have a representative of the royal family (Prince William) as part of the fan base, which he's not going to get involved, but it does provide an extra public relations element to it. I'm fully expecting that there will be some sort of compromise reached where a few hundred Tel Aviv fans, probably women, children, that type of fan are allowed into the ground with enormous police protection and then the game will pass off peacefully and everyone can tick the box saying, oh look, we did it, fantastic, what a wonderful country we are, we managed to get a few hundreds Israelis in and the media will move on. But obviously it's raised issues that I don't think we can move on from that that simply." STORY: Eliot Pollak, chair of Jewish Villans, a Jewish Aston Villa supporters group, has responded to security concerns surrounding the upcoming match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, after authorities decided to bar away fans from attending. Speaking from London on Friday (October 17), Pollak told Reuters that the situation was "very, very depressing, very worrying," but said Jewish fans would not be surprised by the security assessment. He added that some of the away tickets would likely have been purchased by Jewish people from across the UK, rather than Israeli visitors. But with the issue drawing national attention, Pollak expects a compromise may be reached, with some away fans allowed. On Thursday (October 16),  West Midlands Police said they had recommended the ban on Maccabi fans to ensure public safety.     In November 2024, more than 60 people were arrested in Amsterdam after clashes following a match between Maccabi and Ajax.      British Prime Keir Starmer earlier called the ban "the wrong decision".      Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch also called for the decision to be overturned and for police to find ways to make sure fans are safe.      A British regional police commissioner has asked for an immediate review of the ban. (Production: Iain Axon)

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