Page 1 of West Ham being reported for anti-semitic chants

Really,isn`t this just another case of looking for a problem that doesn`t exist ?
Does any Tottenham fan mind anti-jewish chants/songs ?
Isn`t this just part and parcel of football ?
I dunno,I just dread the day football becomes rugby.... :(

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Really,isn`t this just another case of looking for a problem that doesn`t exist ?

No idea but in all honesty it still merits reporting/investigation to prove true or otherwise .

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Does any Tottenham fan mind anti-jewish chants/songs ?

That would depend on what was/alleged to have been sang/said. Tight fisted money hugging etc is OK but I would think Phuq off back to the shower, just for an example, would not be acceptable to anyone I would think.

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Isn`t this just part and parcel of football ?

Not as far as I am concerned mate. Take the Old Firm . An element of their support spout real bile, up to our knees in fenian blood etc/ pro IRA songs. Neither of which I see as an integral part or football and as such the relevant authorities feel the same.

By all means have good banter but to spout racist/bigoted bile is not something that most fans want to hear at a game.

Choagy FFCUK The SPL :)

Anybody have any idea what exactly the chant was? None of the papers seem to be giving specifics.

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Does any Tottenham fan mind anti-jewish chants/songs ?
Isn`t this just part and parcel of football ?

This is probably where we part company on this one. Do you actually mean that anti-semitism is part and parcel of football?

I suspect that`s not what you mean, and rather what you mean is that banter and jovial fun-pokery is part and parcel of football. I cannot for the life of me, however, come up with an acceptable form of anti-semitism. Would you care to elaborate on what you think should be allowed?

And is this particular to anti-semitism or are there certain "acceptable" racist or sexist chants you`d like to see incorporated onto the terraces?

And finally, from what age do you reckon football fans should be taught such slogans?

In very poor taste if it`s true and should never be acceptable in british stadiums, it goes to show what kind of morons do this sort of thing as west ham have an isreali player who if memory serves scored the winning goal againt spurs at the end of last season! (he is jewish btw)

I`ve no idea what the chants were.
You can see them on youtube though,I believe.
I would imagine it`s the sort of chants that have been thrown at Spurs for years.
They wouldn`t be the first team to chant something along with a `SSSSSSSSSSSSS` sound (gas) afterwards.
I`d like to know who reported it.
I would imagine most Spurs fans take it on the chin,as they have for years.
If it was a Spurs fan that reported them,I would imagine they`re using the current climate to land a Hammers fan in some soapy bubble (sic),which is a bit pathetic really.

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If it was a Spurs fan that reported them,I would imagine they`re using the current climate to land a Hammers fan in some soapy bubble (sic),which is a bit pathetic really.

Of all of the people involved in this story, i find it incredible that you choose to label those protesting anti-semitism in sport as pathetic.

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Of all of the people involved in this story, i find it incredible that you choose to label those protesting anti-semitism in sport as pathetic.

You`re competely missing the point.
IF it was a Spurs fan that reported them,then I am suggesting they won`t have reported them for anti-semitic reasons.
As one myself,I can`t see any Spurs fan taking offence at it,coz it`s far from new.
It should be water off a duck`s back.
IF it was a Spurs fan that reported them,I believe they will be using the current climate to land a hammers fan in the dock,which is doing it for the wrong reasons and,IMO,pathetic.

I`ve been going to football for 20 years+ now.
I`ve seen it with my own eyes.
Boys that would otherwise ignore chants are reporting people to the coppers,purely and simply to land them in trouble,not because they are genuinely offended.

Choagy,it`s the same with Celtic v Rangers.
These pricks are reporting each other just because they can,not because they`re offended.
They`ll happily land each other in court,then sing the chants in their home/pub.
It really bugs me when laws such as this,that are there to serve a genuine purpose,are twisted just to land rival supporters in the s***,rather than a genuine grievance. >:(

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IF it was a Spurs fan that reported them,then I am suggesting they won`t have reported them for anti-semitic reasons.

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I`ve been going to football for 20 years+ now.
I`ve seen it with my own eyes.
While i`m sure that there are individuals who would report rival fans, just to get them in trouble, i`m also sure that there are individuals who would be genuinely offended by anti-semitic chants. Why do you see fit to discount this possibility?

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It really bugs me when laws such as this,that are there to serve a genuine purpose,are twisted just to land rival supporters in the s***,rather than a genuine grievance.

Even if i accept that those who complained were not in fact offended (which i don`t) what exactly is your beef here? You act as if these "rival supporters" are completely innocent and a credit to the game. Why not replace "rival" with the more correct "anti-semitic" (if the news report is true which you don`t seem to be disputing) and see how your sentence reads.

I reckon that it wont be long until Paull reports us all to the police/mods for Anti-Man Utd/Ronaldo chants.

My `beef`,as you put it (even though I could be a vegetarian and could find that offensive) is that I believe it`s a thin end of the wedge scenario.
Whilst I would find a person in the street chanting ant-semitic views unacceptable,I do not find arguably anti-semitic chants at football offensive,because I can accept that the intention of those singing them is to merely p*** off the opposition in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
Of course,plenty of people will argue that it`s highly distasteful to come out with `casual` racism/anti-semitism,but there are plenty of examples in football of distasteful chants.
My hometown team sing a song about the Ibrox disaster,in which plenty of people were killed when a stairwell collapsed.
Does this mean they actually glory in the fact people died ?
Of course not,they just know it p***es the Rangers fans right off.
Do these Hammers fans revel in the fact millions of jews died in the holocaust ?
I suppose it`s possible,in which case they should be prosecuted,but I doubt it.

We could argue about this all day,but I`m `old school` when it comes to football.
I don`t want it sanitised any more than it already has been,thanks.
Whilst I don`t want a return to black players being berated,I also don`t want every little thing picked apart and examined.

Christ,Spurs fans call Arsene Wenger a paedophile ?
Is that acceptable,just because it doesn`t have a racist content ?
Should we ban that chant too ?

This item was edited on Tuesday, 6th March 2007, 16:26