The police measures in place for highly-charged Aston Villa-Maccabi fixture
- West Midlands Police is running a major operation surrounding Thursday night’s game between Aston Villa and Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv at Villa Park.
- Around 700 officers have been deployed, including a drone unit, police dogs and protest liaison officers, with protests expected amid the political fallout surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict.
- The force will also be using Section 60 powers – the ability to “stop and search people without the need to have reasonable grounds” - throughout Thursday.
- The Section 60 powers will be in place over a large area of central Birmingham from 12pm Thursday until 3am Friday, the force said.
- The force also urged for people to avoid the area where possible. Fans from Maccabi Tel Aviv have been banned from attending the fixture.