Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers had been “working around the clock” to make sure fans from both Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv could attend the fixture next month, a spokesperson said.

They had been working with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to try to overturn the ban on supporters of the Israeli side attending the match.

The Israeli club said in an earlier statement that a “toxic atmosphere” had put the safety of fans wanting to attend “very much in doubt”.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Government has been working around the clock to defend a basic principle, that football fans should be able to enjoy a game without fear of intimidation or violence.

“We are deeply saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv have turned down their away fan allocation but we respect thei

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