West Midlands Police used AI to support Maccabi fan ban ahead of Aston Villa clash

The report found the WMP must rebuild trust after failures in the decision-making and community outreach, while Government intervention only exacerbated tensions.

WMP were "overly reliant on inaccurate and unverified information," the report detailed, adding evidence supporting pre-held narratives was readily accepted, and contradictory evidence from authoritative sources was seemingly ignored.

A lack of due diligence resulted in failures in the gathering of evidence, such as false information curated by AI, which gave a "misleading" picture of violence on Maccabi's fixture against Ajax in Amsterdam a year prior.

The gathering of evidence by WMP to support the decision is currently subject to an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the report confirmed.

No evidence was found that WMP's response was motivated by antisemitism, however the force "failed to take appropriate steps to engage with Jewish communities."

WMP Chief Constable Craig Guildford retired in January 2026, three months after police provided evidence in favour of the ban.

The report said it was "right" for him to step away from his role so steps could be taken to address the loss of trust and confidence as a result of the episode.

There remain concerns the Safety Advisory Group's decision may have been influenced by political pressure, and that councillors had a "disproportionate opportunity to exert influence".

The report recommended the Cabinet Office end the practice of local councillors sitting on such groups and consider establishing an escalation process in cases with significant social and political consequences.

According to the report, the Home Office failed to recognise the significance of the decision, adding the Government was "likely aware" of the impending ban but failed to intervene until the decision had been made, rendering any intervention ineffective and only increasing tensions.

If the Government really was determined to enable away fans to attend, support and intervention should have come "much earlier".

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Dame Karen Bradley, said: "It is an extraordinary measure to decide to ban fans from attending a fixture, particularly in the cultural and political climate that this occurred in.

"It is therefore crucial that the decision-making process, and the information underpinning it, is beyond reproach.

"Instead, there appears to have been a 'that’ll do' attitude. Banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would make policing the match much easier.

"To justify this step, information that showed the Maccabi fans to be a high risk was trusted without proper scrutiny.

"Shockingly, this included unverified information generated by AI. While Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were falsely characterised as unusually violent, the threat posed by local communities was downplayed and too little care was given to the impact on the Jewish community in Birmingham.

"Government intervention was clumsy and came too late, and we reject the Government’s argument that it could only intervene once the decision was taken.

"The profile of this fixture should have been obvious, and it seems that No10, the Home Office and DCMS were indeed aware.

"But their intervention when it came did little more than inflame tensions.

"It is vital that trust is rebuilt. Firstly, West Midlands Police must repair the damage that has been done by working hard to reach out to local communities, particularly Jewish communities.

"They must also ensure that there is a cultural shift around decision-making where assumptions are tested and evidence fully checked.

"We also want to see the Government develop a more effective mechanism to support decision-making around football safety.

"It should also reflect carefully on its own role and how it can best reduce tensions, rather than exacerbate them, in future."

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