A British police chief has blamed the use of AI for false evidence that partially led to the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a soccer match in Birmingham.
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford apologized for giving the wrong information to MPs.
Guilford said in the letter that his team used AI to search social media and listed past matches between the Israeli club and West Ham United that did not take place.
The hypothetical game was part of the team’s justification for banning Israeli fans from attending games against Aston Villa in November.
Guilford said that until last Friday afternoon, he believed the mistake was caused by using Google, when in fact it was co-piloted by Microsoft.
He “deeply apologized” for the mistake, but added that it was “not his intention to mislead the committee.”
Mr Guilford has come under increasing scrutiny as his decision comes under increasing scrutiny.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmoud is expected to make a statement to MPs on Wednesday following a report on the decision to ban Maccabi fans.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary this morning received the results of the Chief Inspectorate’s investigation into West Midlands Police’s recommendation to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the game against Aston Villa.”
“She will consider this letter carefully and will issue a statement in response to it in the House of Commons later today.”
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, who has the power to sack Mr Guildford, said he would formally examine evidence about his decision-making regarding the ban.
He added: “I am also requesting a report to the Public Accountability and Governance Committee on Tuesday 27 January 2026, which will hold the Chief Constable and West Midlands Police to account.”
“I will always continue to consider this matter in accordance with due process and the law.”
British Jewish Parliamentarians and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch are calling for Mr Guildford to be sacked.
British Reform leader Nigel Farage also suggested the chief constable “needs to step down”, while Israeli representatives said they were “deeply concerned” by the new evidence, which required “full accountability”.
Fans were banned from attending the match at Villa Park, citing safety concerns based on advice from police, the local Safety Advisory Group (Sag) said.
The decision by the group, made up of representatives from local councils, police and other authorities, sparked political anger, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Since then, doubts about the information used by police have grown and controversy has arisen over the accuracy of the information.
On Tuesday, Guilford insisted the ban was not politically influenced.
The commission heard that West Midlands Police believed “vigilantes” in the local community posed a threat to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans when they took the decision to ban them from the match.
Lawmakers said the force had received information as early as September 5 last year that visitors from Israel would be subject to “violence”.
“We have received a number of pieces of intelligence that suggest people are actively seeking out Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and attempting to commit violence against them,” Assistant Detective Constable Mike O’Hara said.
“So we… gained a vibrant status locally. There were people online who were calling themselves Maccabi fans, and they were stirring up members of the local community and saying, ‘This is what you’re going to get.'”
“All of this formed part of the escalation of the situation and on that basis the commanders tried to make the right decision.”
The match had been classified as high risk by authorities due to violent clashes and hate crime crimes during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.
However, Dutch police dispute the accuracy of this information.
Mr Guildford defended the committee chair Dame Karen Bradley’s claim that the force was “scrounging around” to find reasons to justify the ban.
A statement from the Israeli embassy in the UK said the new assessment showed that the main threat to public safety was not from the fans themselves, but from “organized extremist Islamist groups that were actively preparing and arming Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.”
The group said portraying Israeli fans as violent was a “serious misrepresentation” and instead blamed a community facing threats.
“The decision to obscure these assessments and allow misleading narratives to take hold raises serious questions,” the statement said.
“These actions by law enforcement undermine real security risks and even encourage a climate in which hostility toward Israel and the Jewish community is normalized under the rule of law. These issues require full accountability.”
