Fans of a popular British soccer club spewed anti-Semitic taunts and chants at fans of a second British club whose fans are sometimes referred to as the “Yid Army.”
West Ham United fans sang anti-Semitic songs about Hitler to supporters of the home team, the Tottenham Hotspurs, on Nov. 25 and referred to the stabbing last week in Italy of a Spurs fan by a West Ham fan.
The Spurs traditionally have had a large Jewish support base in London.
The Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s watchdog group on anti-Semitism and hate crimes, and its security agency called on the Football Association, the governing body of soccer in England, to take action in the wake of the anti-Semitic chanting.
Several people at the match and others who heard about the chants via the media lodged complaints with the Trust. — jta