Mohamed accused the government and media of prioritising Israel over Britain, and suggested powerful Israeli forces were controlling British politics, declaring, “Labour/Tory/Lib Dem/Reform motto: ‘Israel First, UK nowhere!’”
Footage also emerged of influential Birmingham-based preacher Asrar Rashid appearing to threaten Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. “We will not show them rahma [mercy] in Birmingham,” Rashid said, later claiming he had been referring to “IDF soldiers”, whom he called “murderous foul beings”. He later claimed his comments were taken out of context and were not a call for violence.
Asrar Rashid said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would be shown 'no mercy' in Birmingham (Picture: YouTube/ Asrir Rashid)[Missing Credit]
A Birmingham community activist called Naveed Sadiq, who claimed to have met West Midlands Police on October 16 – just before its announcement of the ban on Israeli fans – posted a video on TikTok in which he said: “A message to the Muslims of Birmingham [...] The Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are far-right Israelis who have a history of causing trouble when they travel to away grounds.
“They previously attempted to cause trouble in Amsterdam where the North African brothers dealt with them. [...] These Israeli hooligans will look to cause trouble in our streets. We urge our brothers to remain vigilant and to keep our sisters and children safe.”
Responding to Sadiq’s claim to have met the force, a West Midlands Police spokesperson told the JC: “We actively engaged and still remain in conversation with a wide range of local partners and community representatives in preparation for the fixture.”
Pro-Gaza independent MPs hailed the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match as a victory against “Zionist pressure”.
Khan’s petition against the Israeli side was backed by Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project, and stated, “Sporting fixtures involving Israeli teams cannot be separated from the wider political context.” It argued that hosting an Israeli club would “normalise” alleged atrocities and called for cutting “cultural and sporting ties” with the Jewish State.
The petition, which gathered more than 3,000 signatures, claimed that Maccabi fans posed “a risk of tensions within the community and disorder” in a “diverse and predominantly Muslim” neighbourhood. It urged authorities to cancel or relocate the match, or hold it behind closed doors, and ensure Israeli supporters previously involved in Amsterdam disorder were “prevented from entering the UK”.
Khan – who was previously criticised for telling freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari that “ordinary Palestinians” had been held “hostage” – welcomed the West Midlands Police-backed decision by the Safety Advisory Group to bar the fans, of which Damari is one.
Ayoub Khan MP (Image: Parliament TV)[Missing Credit]
Elected as an independent in 2024, Khan has repeatedly and vociferously campaigned against Israel – and previously turned down an offer to take part in antisemitism awareness training. He left the Liberal Democrats after controversy over comments in which he appeared to question reports of the Hamas atrocities on October 7. In a TikTok, he said, “What do they think we are? Fools?” Although the Lib Dems said Khan agreed to antisemitism training, the MP later denied this, insisting he had said “nothing offensive” and there was “simply no need” for the training.
Defending the ban amid condemnation from across parliament, Khan said: “It was shameful that not a single politician here in Birmingham, bar me, stood by this decision.”
After violent clashes between Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv fans in Israel on Sunday led to a match cancellation, Khan doubled down on his campaign: “This was never about religion, it was always about hooligans,” he said. “We have had yet another taste of these hooligans – people who show no mercy on their own turf, let alone ours.” But Israeli media later reported the riots were allegedly sparked by Hapoel fans, not Maccabi. Adnan Hussain, independent MP for Blackburn, also backed Khan’s campaign and attacked Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for “fail[ing] to address the fans in question as genocide-supporting Israelis”.
Hussain told supporters during his 2024 election victory speech: “We will raise our voice for Gaza! We will continue to fight, until death, inshallah!” and previously faced accusations of antisemitism for comparing Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust.
At a 2014 rally, he declared: “They let Gaza burn, they hate Gaza. Now let’s make Israel burn.” When the clip resurfaced, he later said he would “use my words more carefully” today, according to The Telegraph.
The paper also reported that Hussain told a crowd on Saturday: “Hatred isn’t a strong enough response to the monstrosity that is Israel! If you don’t feel the same, it’s because the propaganda has been successful, and you just don’t see Muslims as human.”
The Jewish Leadership Council previously criticised Iqbal Mohamed, independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, for describing the Gaza war as a “holocaust.”
During the election, he told constituents to search their homes for and get rid of any “Zionist” items. Just this week, Mohamed called the West “the enemy,” saying: “Let the West, let the enemies not divide us. There is strength and barakah [blessing] in unity.”
Khan, Hussain, and Mohamed – now linked to the new “Your Party” movement – all called for UK military intervention in Gaza, and were backed in the 2024 election by The Muslim Vote (TMV), a campaign group that aims to put “Muslim issues at the forefront” of politics.
Meanwhile, “Your Party” co-founder and former leader of the Labour Party Corbyn, who was an early signatory to the petition, said the fan ban was made “through the lens of public safety”.
Key TMV figures signed a pledge on October 9, 2023, reaffirming the “right of the Palestinians to resist Israeli military occupation, including armed struggle”.
