UK police cite a match Copilot invented to justify a fan ban

In November 2025, West Midlands Police advice led a local safety group to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv's away fans from a Europa League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham. The police intelligence cited a 2023 match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. That match never took place. In January 2026, the chief constable told MPs that officers had found it with a Google search and did not use AI. He later apologized in a letter: the false result came from Microsoft Copilot. The Home Secretary said he no longer had her confidence after an independent report found a failure of leadership. He retired on January 16.