Liverpool MP Paula Barker warned of a “slippery slope when safety concerns are ignored” at football stadiums, referencing the Hillsborough disaster.
“Ninety-seven innocent men, women and children lost their lives. We have safety advisory groups for a reason, and it’s a slippery slope when safety concerns are ignored, and I believe unprecedented for a government to try to overturn such advice.”
Nandy said what was “completely different” about the Aston Villa case was that “the risk assessment is based in no small part on the risk posed to those fans that are attending to support Maccabi Tel Aviv because they are Israeli and because they are Jewish”.
“Now, we should be appalled by that and never allow it to stand,” she added.
Ayoub Khan, whose Birmingham Perry Barr constituency is home to the Villa Park Stadium, has claimed there was a “deliberate disingenuous move by many to make this a matter of banning Jews”.
He later added: “Those who are not welcome in Aston are hooligans that have a long history of violence and vile racism,” citing anti-Palestinian chants made by some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at previous matches.
