Police watchdog may investigate force over Maccabi fan ban

The police watchdog says it may investigate West Midlands Police over its handling of the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an Aston Villa game.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) told the BBC it can exercise its power to investigate "if evidence available to us appears to warrant" it, but that it needed to assess that evidence "before determining our next steps".

Its director Rachel Watson is quoted by the Sunday Times as saying she was willing to use the watchdog's "power of initiative" given the "sensitivities" of the case.

Maccabi fans were prohibited from attending a 6 November match in Birmingham based on reports of hooliganism at other away games they attended.

However, the government's adviser on antisemitism has since said that some of the intelligence the force used to come to the decision was "inaccurate".

Lord Mann told the Home Affairs Committee earlier this month that some facts about the earlier matches had been changed to fit the decision.

West Midlands Police also faced criticism over two of its high-ranking officers appearing to reiterate some of these inaccuracies before the committee.

The IOPC tends to investigate cases that have been referred to it by individual police forces - usually when someone has died due to police action, or if a police officer is accused of a criminal offence.

As such, instigating its own investigation without a referral is relatively rare.

The IOPC is not yet investigating the force's decision, but a spokesperson said on Sunday: "It is right for public confidence and police accountability that the force's involvement in the decision-making process is examined."

They noted HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services was examining the risk assessment West Midlands Police carried out before the fixture and the extent to which the intelligence it gathered "reflected the full information and intelligence picture".

They added that the Home Affairs Committee has asked the force for "additional evidence" relating to Chief Constable Craig Guildford and Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara's committee appearance earlier this month.

"It is important for us to assess evidence related to these processes before determining our next steps."

The IOPC spokesperson said it had written to West Midlands Police and the region's police and crime commissioner to "seek assurances over what assessments they have made of any conduct".

They said this was important "to understand why a formal referral has not been made".

MPs previously heard that the ban was based on information given to the force by Dutch police commanders concerning violence that broke out in Amsterdam last year during a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi.

Following this, Dutch courts said evidence showed fans of the Israeli club faced violence, and also pointed out that the club's supporters pulled down Palestinian flags, vandalised taxis and chanted racist slogans against Arabs.

Despite West Midlands Police saying the decision "wasn't taken lightly", senior MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, said it amounted to antisemitism.

Lord Mann told the Home Affairs Committee that there were several inaccuracies in West Midlands Police's intelligence report.

He said it cited Maccabi fans "pulling down Palestinian flags" on match day in the Netherlands, when the incident occurred the night before. It also referred to a match between Maccabi and West Ham which never happened.

The force also had to apologise over ACC O'Hara's repeated affirmation to the committee that representatives of the Jewish community had said they did not want Maccabi fans at the match, when they had said no such thing.

This week, Maccabi Tel Aviv was fined €20,000 (£17,550) for "racist and/or discriminatory behaviour" by supporters during their game at Stuttgart in Germany on 11 December.

Fans were also given a suspended one away match ban.