The Aston Villa soccer club and West Midlands Police faced renewed criticism after a Jewish communal organization claimed they ignored a proposal to allocate 500 tickets to British Jewish supporters for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Europa League game, The Times reported Friday.

The game between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv will be played in Birmingham on Thursday without away fans after the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) cited security concerns.

According to The Times, West Midlands Police has said its risk assessment and guidance to SAG had not changed and that the away section will remain closed.

Despite widespread calls for authorities to reverse the ruling, Maccabi Tel Aviv said it would not accept any away tickets even if the decision were overturned, citing the safety and well-being of its fans as paramount.

However, Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies, said in a statement to The Times that the communal organization had proposed allowing British Jewish supporters to attend the game, with a plan to transport them safely to and from the stadium.

“We had sought to give Aston Villa and West Midlands Police the opportunity to disprove the harmful notion of........

© The Times of Israel