‘F**k every Jew here’, rants hooded Gaza gang member at Villa Park stadium

"Free Palestine and f*** every Jew on site.”

Turning his attention to the Maccabi players, who arrived in an unmarked coach at 3pm, he said: "I think they should get f***ed too."

Referring to the pro-Israel counterprotest, which was due to arrive at Villa Park at 6.30pm, he said: "We have been waiting for years for an Israeli to come into the country and today is our day to tell them how we feel about them.

"They're p***ies. They know not to come down here and make face."

As one speaker addressed those gathered, the crowd erupted into the now infamous chant of: "Death, death to the IDF,” while a another speaker blamed the “debacle” surrounding the match on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"Your prime minister thought it be okay to allow the Zionist, rapist, violent thugs to come into your city,” they said.

"Instead of standing with the people of Birmingham ... Keir Starmer and his cohort decided it was safe to allow them to come in."

Counterprotesters demonstrating against the Maccabi fan ban were surrounded by a police cordon.

Janine Greyman, who is Jewish and travelled to Birmingham from London to demonstrate against the decision to bar Maccabi fans from the game on safety grounds, and to the voice her opposition to the deep hostility displayed by local activists to supporters of the Israeli side, said: "A Jew should be able to come to a football in this country."

She added: "The Maccabi fans should not have been banned."

One anti-Israel demonstrator in the vicinity told the JC: "[Zionism] has got nothing to do with Judaism, it is to do with a supremacist ideology. You think you are a superior race and you have more rights than other people."

Another simply shouted "Baby killers!” at the counterprotesters while a third yelled: “Stop the genocide! You genocide supporters."

The counterprotesters dispersed as the match started, after being instructed to do so by police, who escorted them away as hecklers shouted on the sidelines.

The JC approached Birmingham MP Ayoub Khan, who initiated the petition with Jeremy Corbyn to ban Maccabi fans from today's game and had been standing outside the stadium since early afternoon. There is no suggestion he was associated with the gang, who were loitering at another location. 

Khan said simply banning the Israeli fans was not enough; he said he believed that the Maccabi team should not have been allowed to come at all.

He said: "We have seen teams suspended in other international tournaments - Russia, for example, South African teams during the apartheid.

"We are witnessing a genocide confirmed by the UN ... Its an affront how we as a nation... are refusing to support a ban in a consistent way."

He went on to say that banning the players was "the consequence of when you [commit] human rights violations".

Anonymous activists plastered “Zionists not welcome” signs and Palestinian flags around Birmingham ahead of the Europa League clash.

Footage shared on social media showed a group of men with their faces covered, wearing head-to-toe black, hanging signs bearing slogans such as “If you see a Zionist, call the anti-terror hotline #ZionistsNotWelcome” and “shooting babies in Gaza, playing games in Birmingham”.

Responding to the footage, independent peer, JC director and lifelong Aston Villa fan, Lord Austin, said: "This is a hate crime against Jews. I expect the police to urgently investigate and find the culprits. The local authority needs to be out immediately to remove these despicable signs."

On Monday, West Midlands Police announced they were mounting a “large policing operation” to cover the match, including 700 officers, police horses, police dogs, a drone unit, road policing unit and protest liaison officers.

Birmingham Police commander, chief superintendent Tom Joyce, said: “We remain committed to maintaining the city’s reputation as a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”