https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/1617abef-cf2c-45ec-94f0-1775cbfcf1a5 Protesters in Birmingham put up banners and Palestinian flags above a major road on Wednesday ahead of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Europa League match against Aston Villa. The match, which will take place at Villa Park on Thursday, triggered a political furore after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from attending after police raised public safety concerns. The move comes after Maccabi hooligans caused mayhem by rampaging through the city last November, before and after their Europa League match against Ajax. Villa said they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park, based on a number of physical and safety factors. Global soccer body Fifa has faced repeated calls to act over the war in Gaza, with Palestinian officials pressing for Israel to be suspended from international football. Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join Catch previous episodes of MEE LIVE, our biweekly news programme exploring the stories shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis, and hard-hitting interviews. Originally airing Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12pm ET | 5pm BST Got a story tip or question? Reach us at MEELive@middleeasteye.org Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:36:45 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tankie.tube https://tankie.tube/lazy-static/avatars/3ba3ff73-a8b6-49c9-add8-9653ef090c7f.webp https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/1617abef-cf2c-45ec-94f0-1775cbfcf1a5 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tankie.tube/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.