Arsenal vows to ban any club members who sang antisemitic chant
Video showing fans signing an anti-Tottenham song ending with the words “F***ing Jew” is being investigated by West Midlands Police
Jeremy Last is assistant web editor at the Jewish News. He lives in Israel, and is currently in his second stint at the JN, having worked for the paper back in the early 2000s!
Arsenal FC has vowed to ban any club members found to have been part of a group of football fans filmed chanting a virulently antisemitic song on a train near Birmingham last weekend.
The clip, posted on Twitter, appears to have been captured on a train packed with Arsenal supporters on their way to their team’s match at Aston Villa last Saturday, 19 March.
In it the group enthusiastically sing an anti-Tottenham song ending with the words “F***ing Jew”. One person can then be heard saying “Love that one,” while others laugh.
It is being investigated by West Midlands Police, after officers were alerted to the incident by Jewish News.
Classy from the arsenal lot… pic.twitter.com/pN1v7XK3gI
— CONTE AT THE WHEEL???????????????? (@N17_SAUL) March 19, 2022
An Arsenal spokesman said the club was shocked by the video.
“We are appalled seeing this footage and hope the West Midlands Police and British Transport Police can identify the individuals and bring them to justice as soon as possible,” he said.
“If any identified individuals found guilty are members of our club, they will have their memberships terminated immediately and will receive stadium bans.
“Arsenal is a home for everyone and we take all forms of discriminatory abuse and violence extremely seriously. We will not stand for this kind of behaviour and are continually trying to improve the way that we identify and deal with offensive and abusive incidents.”
A Tottenham Hotspur spokesman condemned the incident, describing the chant as “vile”.
“Antisemitism in any form is wholly unacceptable and we support all efforts to kick it out of the game,” the spokesman said. “We hope that those individuals conducting this vile chant are identified and dealt with in the strongest way possible.
“We condemn all discriminatory language on and off the pitch.”
After Jewish News contacted West Midlands Police on Monday they confirmed that officers will be investigating the incident.
It appears to have taken place close to Witton Station, the closest stop to Aston Villa’s Villa Park Stadium.
“Thank you for making us aware of video,” a police spokesman said. “We are working with colleagues at British Transport Police who will be investigating this incident.”
The video was also reported to the CST who expressed their concern.
A CST spokesman said: “There is no excuse for any fans to be singing this disgusting antisemitic song. We urge the police to investigate, and we hope that Arsenal FC will ban any fans who can be identified.”
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