Players vying for the ball at a recent Liverpool-Hotspurs match. Image by Twitter

By Ari Feldman February 6, 2018

British police are investigating claims that fans of the Liverpool FC soccer team used anti-Semitic insults in run-ins with fans of the Tottenham Hotspurs at a recent match between the two teams, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

Video footage appeared to show Liverpool fans yelling “Jewish c**ts” during a Tottenham penalty kick, and a journalist heard other Liverpool supporters yelling the same phrase, but using the derogatory noun “Yid” with the same obscene modifier.

“There was about three or four people that passed me on the way out of Anfield who were engaged in it,” the journalist said, referring to Liverpool’s home stadium.

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Please note the following video contains strong language.

The taunting reportedly began after a Tottenham player converted a penalty kick to make the game even at 2-2.

“We investigate all reported incidents at Anfield and anyone found guilty of such an offence would receive a lifetime stadium ban,” a Liverpool spokesman said.

The Tottenham Hotspurs have their stadium in North London, an area where much of London’s Jewish community lives. Anti-Semitic epithets and insults are common when fans taunt the club at Premier League matches.

Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount