British Soccer Fans Can Now Chant ‘Yid’ Without Fear of Arrest

Yid Army: Fans cheer at a recent match between Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa in England. Image by Getty Images

By JTA June 22, 2014

Fans of the British soccer team Tottenham Hotspurs who use the term “yid” will not be arrested, British police said.

Constable Steve Payne of London’s Metropolitan Police told a meeting of team fans last week that using the word is no longer an arrestable offense, but that fans could still be charged if accused of using the term in a pejorative way, the London-based Jewish Chronicle reported.

The team, known as the Spurs, has many Jewish supporters who sometimes call themselves the “Yid army.” However, the term often is used derogatorily by opposing fans.

Payne, who works in the police Football Intelligence Unit, said at the meeting of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust that fans of opposing teams making anti-Semitic chants at Spurs supporters would be arrested, and acknowledged that there is a difference between offensive chants using the term yid made by opponents versus the team’s fans using the word.

The English Football Association announced in September that Hotspurs fans could face criminal charges for using yid, calling the term “inappropriate in a football setting.”

However, Tottenham backers have continued to use the term, saying it is not used derogatorily by team supporters. The chants include “Yids,” “Yid army” and “Yiddos.”

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