Maccabi Tel Aviv boss lifts lid on wild Birmingham experience after Israeli fans banned

Maccabi Tel Aviv's manager Zarko Lazetic says that his team were forced to arrive at Villa Park five hours early for their tense Europa League match against Aston Villa. The game, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Villa, turned into a significant political event after supporters of the Israeli club were banned from attending due to safety concerns.

A massive security operation was launched, involving over 700 police officers, police horses, dogs and a drone unit, in anticipation of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrations. Six arrests were made prior to kick-off, with three on suspicion of racially aggravated offences. Lazetic expressed his team's frustration at being instructed by local police to arrive at the stadium at 3pm.

"It was not normal," the Serbian commented post-match, following goals from Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen that defeated his side. "Sitting... nothing to do. (We came) five hours before the match. It was very difficult. It was not our decision."

Goals from Dutch duo Maatsen and Malen, the latter scoring from the penalty spot, secured a win for Villa that enhances their prospects of automatic qualification for the knockout stages. Halfway through the league phase, they are currently sixth in the table, with matches against Young Boys, Basel, Fenerbahce and Salzburg yet to be played.

Aston Villa's manager, Unai Emery, was once again shielded from addressing non-football related issues surrounding the match.

He said: "Sorry I respect everything but I can't speak here about politics, about the decision. I only want to speak about football, I only know football!"

Reflecting on the match, he said: "Finishing the match I am happy, I am not happy with the performance, but I understand the difficulties we have and we will face for the next match.

"We conceded more chances than we planned and we made some mistakes but overall in 90 minutes we dominated, we played with a good result in front and we managed the match and doing some management as well with the players to try to get good balance.

"We used our passion and our experience in Europe. Here at home in the Conference League two years ago, we have the experience and try to understand the difficulties.

"Do not be frustrated, try and use it to be passionate. It was coming in the second half."