The chief executive of Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv has denounced “falsehoods” and hatred being spewed about their supporters, leading to them being banned from Aston Villa, while accepting there is work to do to eradicate racism in the fan base.

Jack Angelides told Sky News there is a need for “toning down the incitement” ahead of tomorrow’s Europa League match at Villa Park, which will see more than 700 police officers deployed with protests anticipated outside by Palestinian and Israeli groups.

Mr Angelides revealed the club has not been given a specific reason for Birmingham authorities banning their supporters – a decision which the government pushed to be overturned before Maccabi said they would reject any fan allocation granted in any case.

“We feared for the safety of our fans and it’s a huge responsibility,” Mr Angelides said in an interview at Villa Park.

“[With] a lot of incitement, we didn’t feel comfortable in taking that allocation and that’s a sad day in football because things like that shouldn’t happen.

“People have the right to freedom of speech, absolutely, but people don’t have the right to spew hatred.”

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) announced last month that visiting fans will be barred from attending the game at Villa Park amid public safety concerns.

West Midlands Police also classified the Europa League match “high risk” and said the ban was necessary due to “current intelligence and previous incidents”.

That was a reference to Maccabi’s match at Ajax last November when their fans were attacked by locals, leading to five convictions.

No Maccabi fans were prosecuted. They were seen tearing down Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Arab abuse.

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Mr Angelides said: “We have not been given a clear reason [for the ban], but I have seen people coming up with all sorts of stories of our fans, especially in Amsterdam, where there was, what the Amsterdam authorities themselves classified as ‘a Jew hunt’, being portrayed as organised fighters, soldiers, etc, etc.

“It’s just blatant falsehoods, and people who say those things know that they’re false and shame on them.”

Mr Angelides believes the decision has been kept private to leave open for people to form a conclusion and characterise his club as racist.

Ayoub Khan, the independent pro-Gaza MP whose constituency covers Villa Park, called for the ban because the club has “hooligans who have a long history of violence and vile racism”.

“Any club that tries to suggest that they don’t have any issues, whatever that may be, it’s untrue,” Mr Angelides said.

“We know we’ve got a long road ahead. There are elements in the club that are not in line with our values, our morals, and we do expend a lot of energy and have been for many, many years in trying to… eradicate that.

“But to malign thousands and thousands of good fans with the actions of a few, it’s a dangerous game because I think that’s something that is not conducive to toning down the incitement that’s actually going on now. It’s manipulation to my mind.”

Football focus

Mr Angelides did not discuss whether there was fear among the players going into a potentially hostile environment.

“We have Jewish players; we have Christian players; we have Muslim players – we’re a club that’s quite diverse,” he said.

“There is an understandable excitement of playing. They’re aware, … the last two years have taken a toll on Israeli society because of what’s been going on. So they’re very aware of the situation, but I think they’re prepared to focus on their football.”

The game is going ahead, after moves in European football to ban Israeli teams over the war in Gaza faded, as a peace deal was implemented.

Prince William has praised environmental innovators as the “world’s true action heroes”, describing them as the role models we need “in these uncertain times” at his Earthshot awards in Rio.

Joined on stage by four young people from Brazil at his annual ceremony, William explained his motivation to set up the prize, saying of the finalists: “Their stories are the inspiration that gives us courage.”

“And there’s a great deal we can learn from their determination and their vision for scale,” he added.

“As well as their unyielding belief that we can create a better world. It’s no exaggeration to say that they are the world’s true action heroes.”

For the fifth year of his environmental prize, which sees five innovators or entrepreneurs awarded £1m each, he was joined by singers Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes performing at the ceremony.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of her performance, Kylie hailed the awards as an “incredible initiative”.

“I’m really excited to see everyone,” she told Sky News. “There’s amazing people doing incredible things, so it’s good to be here.”

‘When we unite, we are unstoppable’

While the awards have been his focus for the first three days of his trip to Brazil, he will travel to Belem tomorrow for COP30, the UN’s climate conference.

Acknowledging the sense of pessimism around the climate debate, exacerbated by recent global turbulence he said: “I understand some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times.

“I understand there is still so much to be done. But this is no time for complacency, and the optimism I felt in 2020 remains ardent today.”

In a call to action, he added: “The issues that continue to face our world are a threat to all of us, but when we unite, our momentum is unstoppable.”

He then called on the young people, part of the Mini COP programme, to tell the audience their hopes for the future.

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Earlier in the day, the prince had spoken at another Earthshot event about how he does everything he can to reassure his own children that the planet will be looked after.

The spectacular show, also featuring some of Brazil’s biggest stars, was designed to hook in a global and multigenerational audience.

Fortunately for Prince William and his team, it also hasn’t been overshadowed this week by any significant new developments or revelations about his uncle Andrew, who only a week ago was stripped of his remaining honours and titles, and it was announced he would also be moving out of his home Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.

Tesla has quietly expanded its new MultiPass feature to more regions across Europe, allowing owners to charge at third-party stations directly through their Tesla account — no separate app, card, or registration required.

The feature, which first launched in the Netherlands earlier this year, is now rolling out to additional countries, including Germany and France, according to Tesla’s own support page. The update builds on Tesla’s push to make charging as frictionless as possible — not just at Superchargers, but across an entire network of compatible public chargers.

What is Tesla MultiPass?

Tesla describes MultiPass as a “seamless charging option” that lets drivers find and charge at third-party charging stations using their existing Tesla Account. By partnering with a network aggregator, Tesla now connects to over 1,000 charging networks and thousands of stations across Europe.

In practice, MultiPass aims to make the charging experience at third-party stations as close to a Tesla Supercharger as possible — you can simply tap your Tesla key card or select the stall in your Tesla app at a supported charger, and the cost of the session is automatically billed to your Tesla account. The same payment method used for Supercharging applies, and sessions appear right in your Tesla app’s charging history, unified with your Supercharger activity.

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Tesla’s goal is to reduce the number of sign-ups and third-party accounts you need to charge outside of Tesla’s own network. MultiPass turns the Tesla key card into a universal charging credential.

Tesla owners simply need to activate MultiPass through the Tesla app:

1. Open the Tesla app and check “Messages” for the MultiPass invitation
2. Tap Learn More → Next
3. Follow on-screen steps to activate your key card via NFC

Once activated, you can start charging sessions in two ways:

• Tap your key card directly on the supported third-party charger
• Or, start the session in the Tesla app, selecting the stall remotely

Your session appears instantly in the app, complete with cost and time details, just like any Tesla Supercharger session.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla already operates the world’s most reliable and extensive DC fast-charging network. Supercharger is probably the best thing Tesla has ever done.

But outside of the Supercharger footprint, especially in Europe’s dense urban areas, third-party chargers fill critical gaps.

MultiPass eliminates one of the last friction points for Tesla drivers to use these third-party charging stations.

It looks like after a short testing phase in the Netherlands, Tesla is now ready to expand access throughout Europe.