Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 15
5th Report - Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban
Published 22 Feb 2026
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Football Policing All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
This incident has caused serious damage to trust in West Midlands Police, particularly among the local Jewish community, as well as to public confidence in the effectiveness of the force. Assistant Chief Constable O’Hara told us that there was no conspiracy to ban away fans, and we have seen no evidence of such. However, we cannot rule out the suggestion that political pressure played a part in the decision. West Midlands Police were clearly scarred by the visit of Legia Warsaw fans in 2023 and understandably wished to avoid the risk of similar disorder. This risk mitigation, combined with local political pressure and community tensions related to the international situation, led to the exceptional decision to exclude Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. West Midlands Police were warned that their preliminary recommendation would be badly received and should have been more careful in their subsequent due diligence and adopted a more robust approach to interrogating their initial findings, as well as been more transparent about the reasons for recommending a ban. Instead, evidence was selected partially in order to justify the ban, and West Midlands Police were overly reliant on inaccurate and unverified information about the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. This has undermined faith in the competence of West Midlands Police and provided a basis for those questioning their motivation. It is right that former Chief Constable Guildford has retired so that West Midlands Police can begin to address the loss of trust and confidence that has resulted from this episode. (Conclusion, Paragraph 50) 25
From: Home Affairs Committee, 5th Report - Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban (HC 1553), 22 February 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 29 April 2026 (deadline 22 April 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets out work under way on Safety Advisory Group guidance and on a possible designation of events of national significance, but does not recommend a formal escalation mechanism "at this stage".
- A Cabinet Office-owned UK Resilience Academy review of Safety Advisory Group guidance "will result in the publication of new guidance", intended to strengthen members' ability to challenge effectively; no publication date is given.
- On escalation, consideration is being given to whether a "clear and proportionate mechanism" is needed, but any such process would require agreement across government on thresholds, decision-making responsibilities and how intervention would operate.
- On elected politicians sitting on Safety Advisory Groups, the government "agrees" membership should continue to be grounded in operational, regulatory and technical expertise, notes local authorities already have discretion over composition, and says the new guidance "will set out its position on political involvement".
- On a new category of football matches of national significance, officials are working across departments to consider options, but the government "will take account" of the HMICFRS findings, expected shortly, "before finalising proposals or setting out next steps".