January 20, 2006
The American tennis professional Paul Goldstein, who is Jewish, has been taunted with "Osama" jibes. During his first-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne against the Serbian player Novak Djokovic, a group of Djokovic fans yelled "Osama" at him. Soon thereafter, a fight broke out in the stands. Goldstein was quoted by the "Scotsman" newspaper: "While I'm serving, I'm hearing a little Osama bin Laden stuff. I didn't say one word to them. American friends were standing right next to them and at one point [said], 'Why don't you shut up?' So they got into it." Incidents like this have increased over recent years, with many racist and anti-Semitic acts reported from soccer stadiums across Europe.
