Police arrest 11 people during protests outside match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv  | OneFootball

Police arrested 11 people during protests outside the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday (BBC).

Hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters called for the fixture to be cancelled and for Israeli teams to be banned from multinational competitions. 

A smaller group of pro-Israeli campaigners also marched towards the ground to oppose the ban and to stand in solidarity with Maccabi fans. 

More than 700 police officers were deployed for the politically-charged Europa League game. Police arrested five people on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences.

One person was taken into custody after allegedly trying to throw fireworks into the ground, while another was apprehended on suspicion of possessing drugs. 

Apart from a few minor scuffles, the match proceeded without any major incidents.

Villa edged past Maccabi 2-0, but it was far from a convincing display.

The Midlands outfit were lacklustre for the majority of the first half, and Dor Peretz came close to breaking the deadlock for the visitors. 

Ian Maatsen struck the opening goal from a tight angle in first-half stoppage time before Donyell Malen added another from the penalty spot.

Villa suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Go Ahead Eagles last month, but they bounced back with a win to boost their chances of qualification for the knockout stage.