U16 team walk off pitch over anti-Semitic abuse
Manchester Maccabi under-16 manager Anthony Dennison was forced to take his players off the pitch after he alleged they received anti-Semitic abuse during a match on Sunday.
Mr Dennison said that one of his players was verbally abused throughout the Tameside League match against Curzon Ashton with such comments as “Jewish p***k”, forcing the game to be abandoned.
He added that an opposing player said: “They’ve got no foreskins”, while a parent shouted that Maccabi “didn’t care about what happens to the Palestinians”.
“It is totally unacceptable and wrong,” said Mr Dennison, who described it as a hate crime. “It is one of the most vile incidents of antisemitism I have seen in children’s football.”
He also said he was incandescent with rage that Curzon manager Bryan Hart did not apologise.
Mr Dennison, who is acting chairman of Manchester Maccabi, explained: “The way in which he handled the situation was diabolical. He had no interest.
“We will not play them again unless we receive an unreserved apology. There is not a single prospect of me allowing children, to whom I owe a duty of care, to be exposed to a team who treats racism in such a cavalier manner.”
As the offending player was sent off, Mr Dennison claimed he was abusive again — and all but two of his team applauded him, who apologised after the game.
Mr Dennison added: “As I was packing up, one of the parents shouted over that we didn’t care about what happens to the Palestinians.
“The Israel-Palestinian issue is totally irrelevant unless she believed what Israel does should be reason enough to abuse British Jews in this country.
“I am sure that no right-thinking person would associate the actions of Israel with a bunch of 15-year-olds playing football.”
He said he would like to see the Curzon Ashton players undergo some form of education about racism, especially antisemitism.
Mr Dennison added: “Unfortunately, I am not shocked by what happened because, as Jews, we have become anaesthetised to it.
“However, as a community we must take a stand.”
He has sent a report to the Manchester Football Association.
A Manchester FA spokesman said: “We will work with both clubs to resolve the issues and are awaiting the referee’s official report. We take these matter seriously and we will deal with it.”
CST communications director Mark Gardner said: “We applaud Mr Dennison’s decision to remove the children and stop them being subjected to such abuse.
“Unfortunately, cases of antisemitism in football have been far too common in recent years.
“We hope the relevant authorities will act swiftly and strongly against those responsible.”
Football anti-racism organisation Kick It Out confirmed they had received a complaint.
Curzon manager Bryan Hart and Tameside League secretary Graham Dixon were unavailable for comment.
Written by Simon Yaffe of the Jewish Telegraph
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
