LONDON (AP) — British police said six people were arrested Thursday evening ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa League soccer match with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, a match that has seen fans of the Israeli team banned.

West Midlands Police, which has deployed more than 700 officers, said a 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask while a 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a dispersal order. Three others were arrested for racially aggravated public order offenses and another for breach of the peace.

Around 200 protesters including members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered near a children’s playpark adjacent to Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand.

Palestinian flags and banners calling for a boycott of Israel had als

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