The Netherlands’ national police force said that the British West Midlands police used false claims to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending its Soccer match against Aston Villa on November 6.
The disputed claims made by the West Midlands police were that 500-600 Maccabi fans were “intentionally targeting Muslim communities,” and that they were “throwing innocent members of the public into the river,” necessitating that 5,000 officers were needed over a number of days, The Times reported Saturday.
Another disputed accusation about the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was that over 200 of them were linked to the Israeli Defense Forces and that the fans were “highly organized, skilled fighters.”
The claims made were incorrect, the Netherlands’ national police force said.
Spokesperson for the Amsterdam division, Sebastiaan Meijer, said he does not have such intelligence and was “surprised” by the allegations.
Inaccurate or untrue statements: Dutch authorities
On the statement about “throwing innocent members of the public into the river,” Meijeer responded, saying that the only case he knew about was when a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan was filmed being told he can only leave the river on the condition he said “Free Palestine,” according to the report.
The Dutch police described the information in the report as obviously inaccurate and “not true,” with none of the claims appearing in an investigation by the Dutch justice and security ministry in May.
Superintendent Jack Hadley relayed the disputed claims in a closed-door meeting with Birmingham’s Jewish community, according to The Times.
After several days, the West Midlands police force responded, saying its “evaluation had public safety at its heart.”
“We met with Dutch police on October 1, where information relating to that 2024 fixture was shared with us,” before claiming that some Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, known as the Maccabi Fanatics, “posed a credible threat to public safety.”
