Soccer fans arrested for allegedly harassing Orthodox Jew on a plane

Fans of the Tottenham Hotspur club have historically been called Yids. (Katie Chan/Wikimedia Commons)

By Cnaan Liphshiz November 8, 2021

(JTA) – Police in Britain arrested two men for allegedly chanting offensive soccer-themed limericks at an Orthodox Jewish passenger on a flight Nov. 4.

The incident was filmed aboard a Ryanair flight from the United Kingdom to Belgium last week. Many of the passengers were headed to a soccer match between the West Ham team and Genk, a Belgian team.

As the Orthodox passenger walked past them on the plane, several men began chanting about the Tottenham Hotspurs, a rival soccer team from England that some soccer fans believe to be supported by many Jews. The Hotspurs did not play in Belgium last week.

“Running around Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing I’ve got foreskin, haven’t you?” the men sang while the Orthodox passenger walked down the aisle.

In a statement, the West Ham team said it was “appalled” by the incident and were working with police to identify the fans filmed. Police arrested one man, whom they suspect of inciting racist hate, on Thursday and another on Friday. West Ham banned two fans from its stadium for life as a result of the incident, according to the Jewish News of London.

The incident took place just days after London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court sentenced a supporter of the Chelsea soccer team to eight weeks in jail for incitement for antisemitic social media posts directed at fans of the Spurs. Nathan Blagg, 21, posted a picture of Auschwitz with the words: “Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz.” Blagg said he did not mean to insult Jews and that the posts were “banter between friends.”

In another incident last week, FIFA, the world soccer federation, fined its Scottish affiliate after fans jeered while the Israeli anthem was played for the Israeli team that competed in the FIFA World Cup Qualifying match at Hampden Park, Glasgow last month. FIFA fined the Scottish Football Association to the tune of nearly $11,000 for that violation of the FIFA code, which prohibits expressions of disrespect toward any country’s flag or anthem.

—
The post UK soccer fans arrested for allegedly harassing Orthodox Jew on a plane appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

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. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO