British Police Arrest Three Fans Over Anti-Semitic Soccer Tweets
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Three British men have been arrested for posting anti-Semitic comments on Twitter following a soccer match in October.
Police said two men, aged 22 and 24, were arrested Thursday in London and in Wiltshire, Reuters reported Friday. A third man, 48, man was arrested at his home in Canning Town in London last week on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.
An investigation was triggered following a soccer match on Oct. 6 by complaints about tweets that referred to Hitler and the gas chambers in connection to a match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Traditionally, the Tottenham squad has had a large Jewish following. Supporters of the club often chant “Yid Army” and “Yiddo” at matches, using a term deemed offensive by some in the Jewish community. Fan groups say the term is used as a badge of honor rather and is not a derogatory remark.
However, the governing Football Association and police have warned that using the word “Yid” could lead to prosecution and a ban on attending matches.
All three men are free on bail.
In a separate investigation also dealing with anti-Semitic tweets relating to the same match, a 55-year-old man from Hemel Hempstead north of London was arrested and cautioned on Nov. 28 for malicious communications, police said.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
