An under-pressure British police chief on Wednesday blamed the use of AI for erroneous evidence given to parliamentarians over the decision to ban fans of Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv from a match against Aston Villa.
Police classified the match in Birmingham in November as “high risk”, citing previous Maccabi games, including a Europa League clash in Amsterdam, which led to clashes between locals and Israeli fans.
The decision to ban Maccabi fans from the Europa League game at Villa Park was heavily criticized by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the government has commissioned an independent report, which is due to be published later on Wednesday.
West Midlands Police has come under increasing scrutiny after evidence used to justify the decision was found to be flawed. The corporation rejected allegations that the measure was motivated by political reasons rather than the safety of fans.
In an intelligence report on the game, police cited a match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv which never took place.
Questioned by parliamentarians earlier this month, police chief Craig Guildford insisted that the error was the result of a Google search and that the corporation did not use artificial intelligence in its research.
However, in a letter to MPs on Wednesday, Guildford admitted the misinformation was due to the use of Microsoft Co-Pilot, an AI chatbot.
“I would like to offer my deepest apologies to the committee for this error,” Guildford said, adding that there was “no intention to mislead the committee.”
This comes after British media reported in December that Dutch police also disputed evidence cited by West Midlands police to justify the ban.
British police claimed to have received information that Maccabi fans were behind several violent incidents during the Amsterdam clashes in 2024, but this information was partially contradicted by politicians and Dutch police.
The decision to ban fans from entering was also heavily criticized by Israeli politicians, who considered it anti-Semitic.
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will present the findings of the independent investigation on Wednesday, which could further increase pressure on Guildford after opposition leader Kemi Badenoch called for her resignation over the fiasco.
The Guardian newspaper reported that the oversight body’s report is expected to highlight a series of errors made by the police in collecting and managing intelligence information when making the decision.
The match took place under tight security, but without the presence of Maccabi fans, as the Israeli team refused the quota of tickets for the visiting fans.
