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by Algemeiner Staff
West Ham United fans singing an antisemitic chant as a Jewish man boards the same flight to Belgium. Photo: Screenshot.
A video of English soccer fans chanting an antisemitic song to a Jewish man on a flight to Belgium this week has caused an outcry, with the club they support promising an indefinite ban on anyone identified as taking part.
The incident occurred as passengers boarded the RyanAir plane in London. A group of supporters of the English Premier League side West Ham United, who were traveling to Belgium for a Europa League clash against KRC Genk, began chanting the song as they watched a Haredi man walking down the aisle to his seat. The song — directed at West Ham’s London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are regarded in English soccer folklore as a “Jewish” club — mocked the Jewish religious practice of circumcision, ending with the taunt, “I’ve got foreskin, haven’t you?”
In a statement, West Ham confirmed that they were “liaising with the airline and relevant authorities to identify the individuals.”
The club said it had been “appalled by the contents of the video circulating on social media and condemn the behavior of the individuals involved …We continue to be unequivocal in our stance — we have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination. Any individuals identified will be issued with an indefinite ban from the club. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the football club and we do not welcome any individuals who do not share those values.”
Kick It Out, an NGO working to eliminate racism and discrimination from English soccer, said that the West Ham fans had been singing “an incredibly offensive chant at a Jewish man on a flight to Belgium yesterday.”
The group added that “antisemitism, as much as any other form of discrimination, must not be tolerated in our game, or anywhere in our society.”
Other organizations called on RyanAir to assist in identifying the offending fans, pointing out that the airline had failed to protect a Jewish passenger from racial harassment.
“RyanAir, will you be helping West Ham to to identify their fans taunting a Jewish passenger … Did your crew take action and alert police? These racist thugs must face the consequences of their actions,” the London-based Campaign Against Antisemitism declared on Twitter.
