"West Midlands police will be criticised in a report about their handling of intelligence used to justify banning Israeli fans from a football game in Birmingham, the Guardian understands. The inquiry was ordered by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and carried out by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, the policing inspectorate. It will add to pressure on the force and further weaken the position of its chief constable, Craig Guildford, who last week insisted to MPs his force had behaved correctly."
"But the findings from the chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Andy Cooke, will say the force made a series of errors in how it gathered and handled intelligence. The West Midlands police case is that they were willing to have Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attend the game against Aston Villa in November 2025 at Villa Park, until they spoke to Dutch police about their experience when the Israeli side played in Amsterdam in November 2024."
"The Birmingham-based force said they were told by Dutch police that Maccabi fans were perpetrators of the violence, not victims. This is strongly disputed by Dutch police and other groups. The conclusions reached by WMP went in a report the force gave to a local safety advisory group before the game in Birmingham. It is alleged that the police report gave the impression the behaviour and culpability of Maccabi fans was worse than what was detailed in the evidence."
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary will criticise West Midlands Police for errors in how intelligence was gathered and handled that supported a ban on Israeli fans at a Birmingham match. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered the inquiry. The force had initially been willing to allow Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend until information from Dutch police about violence at an Amsterdam match was received. Dutch police dispute key claims WMP relied on, including an alleged incident of fans throwing people into a river, saying only a single fan ended up in a river. The findings weaken Chief Constable Craig Guildford's position and will be presented to MPs.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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