BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa meets Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday amid boosted security measures including more than 700 police officers.
“We know protests by different groups will take place on the day and we have plans in place which balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham,” police said.
Various pro-Palestinian groups plan to oppose the visit of the Israeli club.
Maccabi fans are banned from the game after West Midlands Police deemed the match at Villa Park to be high risk and cited violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played at Ajax in Amsterdam last season.
The ban attracted widespread criticism including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision.
Nottingham Forest travels to Austria to face Sturm Graz after earning a 2-0 win over Porto under new manager Sean Dyche, and pointless Rangers meet Roma.
Danish side Midtjylland wants to keep a perfect record against Celtic while another team with three wins from three matches, Lyon, plays Real Betis in Seville.
In the Conference League, Fiorentina is in Germany to face Mainz in the first game under interim coach Daniele Galloppa after Stefano Pioli was fired two days ago with the Viola winless and at the bottom of Serie A. Fiorentina was runner-up in consecutive Conference League finals followed by reaching the semifinals last season. Crystal Palace hosts Alkmaar in another notable game.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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