Maccabi Tel Aviv Disappointed With Early Arrival In Match Against Aston Villa

Maccabi Tel-Aviv manager Zarko Lazetic could only surrender to arrive five hours before his start against Aston Villa (Instagram/@maccabitlvfc).

JAKARTA - Maccabi Tel-Aviv manager Zarko Lazetic revealed that his team had to arrive at Villa Park five hours early for a tense Europa League match against Aston Villa on Friday, November 7, 2025, early morning WIB.

The league phase match at Villa Park, which hosts won with a score of 2-0, became a major political event after supporters of the Israeli club were barred from attending for fear of their safety.

More than 700 police officers were deployed amid a massive security operation involving police horses, police dogs, and drone units ahead of the planned pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests.

West Midlands police confirmed that 11 arrests had been made as part of their operations in the match, five of which were on suspicion of racial abuse.

Lazetic said his team could only surrender after being ordered by local police to arrive at the stadium at 15.00 local time (Thursday, November 6, 2025).

"It's not normal. Just sit down, nothing can be done. (We came) five hours before the game."

"It was very difficult. It was not our decision," said the Serbian coach after goals from Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen beat his team.

Meanwhile, goals in both rounds from the Dutch duo, Maatsen and Malen - who scored from the penalty spot - ensured Aston Villa's win that increased their chances of qualifying automatically for the knockout stages.

In the middle of the Europa League, The Villans are in sixth place in the standings, with Young Boys, Basel, Fenerbahce, and Salzburg still the next opponent.

Aston Villa boss, Unai Emery, is again protected from questions about non-ball issues around the match.

"Setting the game I'm happy, I'm not happy with our performances, but I understand the difficulties we face and we will face for the next game."

"We conceded more chances than we planned. We made some mistakes, but overall in 90 minutes we dominated."

"We played with good results up front. We controlled the game and did management with the players to try to find a good balance."

"We used our passion and experience in Europe. At home, at the UEFA Conference League two years ago, we had experience and tried to understand the difficulties."

"Don't be frustrated, try and use it to stay excited. It happened in the second half," Emery said of the match.