Maccabi Tel Aviv will decline any tickets offered to their fans for the Europa League match at Villa Park, the Israeli club have said.

The local Safety Advisory Group opted last week to block visiting fans from attending the tie against Aston Villa on 6 November following a risk assessment by West Midlands Police, a decision that drew criticism from politicians including the prime minister, Keir Starmer.

There have been calls for the decision to be reversed, but a statement on the Maccabi website on Monday evening read: “The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount and, from hard lessons learned, we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans, and our decision should be understood in that context.

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