MP's have been told that Dutch Police 'underestimated' threat from Isreali fans
It's after West Midlands Police say they spoke to officers in Amsterdam, before deciding not to let Maccabi Tel Aviv fans go to an Aston Villa match.
Local pressure meant Dutch police underestimated the threat of violence from Israeli football fans, a senior police officer has told MPs as he faced questions about why West Midlands Police relied on intelligence that officers in Amsterdam have since disputed.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford of West Midlands Police told the Home Affairs Select Committee on Monday that Dutch officers "probably underestimated the level of threat and risk" posed ahead of a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last year.
Mr Guildford was summoned before MPs to explain claims in the Sunday Times that his force relied on a document from Birmingham'sSafety Advisory Group (SAG), which claimed fans from the Israeli club had thrown members of the public in Amsterdam into a river and that up to 600 of them targeted Muslim communities.
The SAG report classified a fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa last month as high risk, with the British police force pointing to alleged violent clashes and hate crime offences as reasons for it not to allow fans from the Israeli club to attend.
But last month, the Sunday Times quoted a police spokesman in the Netherlands as saying the claims were not recognised by the Dutch force.
Mr Guildford said he chose to believe what his own chief inspector told him about his meeting with Dutch police, which "swayed" their assessment to not allow the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend Villa Park on November 6.
He said: "My very careful conclusion, looking at everything and listening to what people have said... is that I think initially the Dutch probably underestimated the level of threat and risk.
"And the day before the match they were extremely stretched. The day of the match, they deployed an absolute abundance of riot-trained police, and I think the whole incident left them in a position whereby they hadn't anticipated the level of disorder."
Asked if he believed Dutch police were in denial, Mr Guildford said: "I'm not saying that they're in denial, but with respect, you would have to ask them their version of events, wouldn't you?"
The chief constable told the panel the West Midlands force had not been politically influenced as he defended the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the match.
Mr Guildford said suggestions of "conspiracy" were "completely wrong and misleading".
The chief constable told the committee: "My assurance to yourselves as a panel is that we were not influenced in any way, shape or form by anybody politically.
"We did our service to the best of our ability, and the officers acted in line with their training and professionalism."
He told the panel that "from the get go" police were planning to facilitate both sets of supporters at Villa Park.
He said the assessment changed after the West Midlands chief inspector met three commanders from the Dutch police.
Mr Guildford said: "The information provided from the Dutch was very, very clear in terms of they reflected on the days before, during and after the match as a result of clashes between the Maccabi ultras and the local Muslim community.
"In terms of what we were told, the ultras were very well organised, militaristic in the way that they operated. They attacked members of the local community, including taxi drivers. Tore down flags. People were thrown into the river."
He added that the Dutch commanders were "unequivocal" that they "would never want to have Maccabi Tel Aviv playing in Amsterdam again in the future".
Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara told the panel that some Jewish community representatives had said they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the match in Birmingham.
He added: "The challenge for us here was the concern communicated via the Dutch into our head of football unit that the Maccabi risk fans - not the broader fans, I hasten to add - were very organised and targeted community members."
Mr Guildford said forces try to "minimise those risks wherever possible" but "it's not about eliminating 100% of risk".