Football fans investigated for ‘vile’ antisemitic chanting this weekend
West Midlands Police looking into video, apparently showing Arsenal fans on their way to Villa Park on Saturday
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!
A group of football fans filmed chanting a virulently antisemitic song this weekend are being investigated by police, after officers were alerted to the incident by Jewish News.
The clip, posted on Twitter by Tottenham fan @N17_SAUL, appears to have been filmed on a train packed with Arsenal supporters on their way to their team’s match at Aston Villa on Saturday.
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.
Thank you for making us aware of video. We are working with colleagues at @BTP who will be investigating this incident.
— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) March 21, 2022
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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