The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their Europa League game against Aston Villa next month has led to a major row about two-tier policing. Why exactly is the arrival of several thousand Israelis in Birmingham expected to precipitate a major, violent riot? And shouldn’t West Midlands Police, rather than advising the local council that the ban should go ahead over safety concerns, have simply pledged to come out in force to allow the game to proceed as usual?

The focus on the police and the ‘ optics ’ here has the whiff of displacement activity

The outrage and apparent shock at this decision has been oddly fulsome. Sir Keir Starmer himself has not only denounced the ban but is so ‘angered’ that he is now working to overturn the move from Westminster. Starmer can’t b

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