No away fans, protests and 700 police - Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv explained
Ana Maria Rus
When Maccabi Tel Aviv were drawn to face Aston Villa in the Europa League, the fixture immediately stood out. The prospect of an Israeli team travelling to play a club based in a predominantly Muslim area prompted concerns from those in charge of ensuring the fixture passes off safely. Six weeks ago, there was even a chance the game might not go ahead, with calls for Israeli teams to be removed from international competitions because of the Israel-Gaza war. But once a ceasefire was agreed last
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