A former Hezbollah fighter has been linked to a report, published by the Daily Mail, that campaigners say influenced West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Israeli fans from an upcoming football match at Aston Villa.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, chaired by Dyab Abou Jahjah, helped the “Game Over Israel” campaign compile an anti-Israel dossier submitted to police ahead of the Europa League fixture. The group claims the document played a central role in the controversial decision to block Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
The dossier reportedly warned that Maccabi fans’ arrival in Aston-a diverse, predominantly Muslim area-could “pose a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder.” It also referenced last year’s Amsterdam riots during Maccabi’s Europa League clash with Ajax and criticized Israel’s participation in global sport.
Abou Jahjah, born in Lebanon, was formerly part of Hezbollah and has publicly expressed pride in his military training. Investigations by the MoS have revealed images of him online posing with a Kalashnikov and calling being labeled a terrorist a “badge of honour.” Following the October 7 Hamas attack, he praised the massacre on social media and made inflammatory statements about Jews.
Based in Belgium, where the Hind Rajab Foundation operates, Abou Jahjah has also held mock funerals for killed Hamas leaders, repeatedly praised Hezbollah figures, and founded the now-defunct Arab European League, which was fined in 2010 for posting Holocaust-denial content. He was banned from the UK in 2009 due to his views.
The police decision has drawn widespread criticism. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called for it to be reversed, and fresh talks are expected this week. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said authorities may have relied on advice from a “terrorist sympathiser,” calling the involvement “sick.”
Some left-wing, pro-Gaza MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, have defended the ban. Independent Dewsbury MP Iqbal Hussain Mohamed said it prioritized Aston Villa fans over “Zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot”-comments critics described as racist.