European Jewish Press
Last week’s football controversy, which saw self-proclaimed “Yid Army” Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) football fans stabbed by a fascist contingent of Lazio fans at an away match in Rome, showed no signs of abating as the club’s fans were further subjected to anti-Semitic abuse from visiting fans of rival London club West Ham Sunday.
Invoking the violent brawl against the traditionally Jewish Tottenham fanbase in the Italian capital, which saw a mob of 50 football hooligans attack a group of aout 10 Spurs fans at a drinking spot in the city, resulting in the stabbing of one fan and seven others being sent to hospital ahead of the British club’s Europa League tie against Lazio, West Ham fans began with relatively mild taunts of “Viva Lazio”.
The chants, issued from hundreds of the London club’s fans, quickly descended even further into unsavoury territory however, as fans began to hiss in imitation of Holocaust gas chambers, before calling out “Adolf Hitler, he’s coming for you”.
As Spurs fans retorted triumphantly “Can we play you every week?” in the closing stages of the game which the home team won 3-1, the response from West Ham fans came: “Can we stab you every week?”
Spurs’ fanbase has long reflected the Jewish demographic of its North London home, with some analysts, including a recent appeal by the Society of Black Lawyers, taking umbrage at their self-adopted moniker “Yid Army”, which they brandish without negative intent.
The recent incidents targeting Spurs are not the first to have affected British and European teams, after a World Cup 2014 qualifying match between Hungary and Israel’s national teams in August was marred by Hungarian supporters sporting Palestinian and Iranian flags and turning their backs on the pitch during the traditional singing of Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem, that preceded the game.
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There was also widespread protest over the Summer over the controversial choice of Ukraine to host the European championship, as Ukrainian football matches and fans have long been associated with nationalist factions and racist incidents.
The tournament, which was co-hosted by Poland, saw the England team pay a visit to Auschwitz concentration camp, as part of a programme organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET), a move equally mirrored by the Italian, Dutch and German teams.
