A police force failed to recognise the “long-term, global consequences” of its decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a match in the UK last year, a watchdog has found.
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she no longer has confidence in West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford after receiving a “damning” report by the police watchdog into the decision to keep fans away from the Europa League match against Aston Villa in November.
Ms Mahmood said the report characterised the police’s approach as “confirmation bias” and “rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans”.
A “failure of leadership” has “harmed the reputation and eroded public confidence in West Midlands Police and policing more broadly”, she told MPs, while acknowledging she does not have the power to sack the chief constable.
Mr Guildford has faced calls to resign from across the political spectrum, including from the leader of the local Birmingham Council.
He blamed the use of AI for erroneous evidence which partially led to the decision, and apologised to MPs for giving them incorrect information.
Mr Guildford told the Commons Home Affairs Committee in a letter that his force had cited a previous match between the Israeli club and West Ham United that never happened, after using AI to search social media.
The fictitious match formed part of the force's justification for banning the Israeli fans from the match.
Mr Guildford said that until last Friday afternoon he believed the mistake was caused by using Google, when in fact it was the result of Microsoft Copilot.
He offered his “profound apology” for the error, but added that “there was no intention to mislead the committee”.
Ms Mahmood received the report by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke on Wednesday.
She said: “The force, we now discover, conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken.”
She added: “Peaceful, harmonious communities rely on a police service that, above all else, pursues the truth. In a world in which misinformation flows freely and dangerously, the police, in this case, added further misinformation into our public debate when they could and should have provided the truth that could have allayed fears.
“In doing so, West Midlands Police did not support community relations. Instead, they inadvertently make things worse.”
The report found police “overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area”.
There is “no evidence” anti-Semitism played a part in the decision, the watchdog said, but added there was an “imbalance” in the information the force used to inform its decision.
Sir Andy said in a letter to the Home Secretary that he was “concerned” the force did not appreciate how the “national and international context would lead to far-reaching consequences if the fixture and wider associated events were not policed effectively”.
He said: “I am not convinced that the force fully considered the consequences of its preferred tactical option.
“It focused on reducing the risk of short-term disorder and long-term damage to local community relations due to the presence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. It lacked the necessary foresight to recognise the long-term, global consequences.”
The watchdog found eight “inaccuracies” in a report from the force to Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (Sag).
They included the reference to a non-existent game between Tel Aviv and West Ham, found to be an “AI hallucination” produced by Microsoft Copilot.
Other inaccuracies included overstating the number of Dutch police officers posted during a previous Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam, claims fans were linked to the Israeli army, claims Muslim communities had been intentionally attacked by Tel Aviv fans and reports of several Dutch police officers being injured in the disorder.
West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster, who holds the power to remove Mr Guildford from his post, has said he will formally review evidence on decision-making around the ban.
He added: “I have also requested a report to my public accountability and governance board on Tuesday January 27, 2026, at which I will hold the chief constable and West Midlands Police to account.
“I will continue to keep this matter under review, in accordance with due process and the law at all times.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch have called for Mr Guildford to be sacked.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also suggested the chief constable “needs to go”, while Israeli representatives said they were “deeply concerned” by emerging evidence which needed “full accountability”.
Fans were barred from travelling to the game at Villa Park by the local Safety Advisory Group (Sag), which cited safety concerns based on advice from the police force.
The decision by the group – which is made up of representatives from the local council, police and other authorities – caused political outrage, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Since then, doubts have grown over the intelligence used by police, with disputes over the accuracy of information.
On Tuesday, Mr Guildford insisted the ban was not politically influenced.
The committee heard West Midlands Police thought “vigilante groups” from the local community posed a threat to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans when it decided to ban them from the game.
The force had information from as early as September 5 last year that the Israeli visitors would be attacked, MPs were told.
Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara said: “We got a lot of information intelligence to suggest that people were going to actively seek out Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and would seek violence towards them.
“So we had … a bubbling position locally. We had people purporting to be Maccabi fans online who were goading local community members and saying, ‘this is what you’re going to get’.
“This was all forming part of the heat of the situation, so based on that, the commanders tried to make the right decision.”
The fixture had been classified high risk by the force, which cited alleged violent clashes and hate crime offences during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.
However, Dutch police have disputed the accuracy of this information.
Mr Guildford denied claims put to him by committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley that the force was “scraping” to find a reason to justify the ban.
