Several journalists and public figures have since highlighted how the episode exposes double standards in the way pro-Israel narratives are framed, particularly in UK media and politics.
"There's been a huge effort to use the banning of violent Israeli football 'fans' to again push the false claim that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic," Richard Burgon, Labour Member of Parliament for Leeds East, wrote on X.
"This news exposes how absurd that campaign has been," he wrote, pointing out the Israeli ban on the Maccabi match.
Miqdaad Versi, media spokesperson for the Muslim Council — a community for British Muslims — noted: "The latest violence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was so bad that there was 'risk to human life' & the Tel Aviv derby was cancelled by the police! The lack of even the slightest scepticism at the pro-Israel narrative was disappointing."
Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo News, commented: "Think about how much the UK media has gaslit us over the past few days. It was never about antisemitism, it was about Israeli football hooligans."
Pattern of false claims
The controversy over the Tel Aviv riots mirrors another recent episode in the UK, where pro-Israel accounts falsely claimed that Metropolitan Police officers had arrested a Jewish person at a pro-Palestine protest simply for wearing a Star of David necklace.
The Met Police later denied the claim, clarifying that the man had been detained for repeatedly breaching protest conditions under the Public Order Act and not for his religious symbol.
Posting on X, the Met said: "The claim this man was arrested for wearing a Star of David necklace is not true. He was arrested for repeatedly breaching Public Order Act conditions that were in place to keep opposing protest groups apart."
The police said the man, who described himself as an "independent legal observer", had crossed into an opposing protest area multiple times and provoked reactions despite repeated warnings.
"We need a rational discussion about how it's in the interests of pro-Israel cheerleaders to keep Jewish people in Britain and the wider diaspora in a state of panic — and that involves whipping up hysteria over lies," journalist Owen Jones said on X.