West Ham United vows to ban for life and report to police fans who chanted “I’ve got a foreskin, haven’t you, f***ing Jew”
West Ham United Football Club has said that it will ban for life any fans that it manages to identify from a video in which football thugs can be heard chanting on public transport: “We’ll be running around Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing ‘I’ve got a foreskin, haven’t you, f***ing Jew’.” Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has traditionally enjoyed the support of a large number of Jewish football fans.
After footage of the incident was posted on Twitter, a West Ham United spokesperson said: “We are disgusted by the contents of the video. These people are not welcome at our club — they are not welcome in civilised society. We are taking immediate action to try to identify the offenders, whose details we will be handing over to the police and will be banned for life from London Stadium and from travelling with the club. West Ham United is unequivocal in its stance – there is no place for this kind of behaviour at our club.”
Greater Manchester Police praised the club for its firm stance appealed for witnesses with footage of the incident to contact them. Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Boyce said: “Here in Manchester we pride ourselves on making sure fans from far and wide are welcomed and it is disappointing that a small few have brought shame on football in this way. Let me be really clear: racial abuse will not be tolerated and anyone that partakes in this kind of behaviour can be expected to be investigated by the police.”
Witnesses should contact Greater Manchester Police by calling 101, or e-mailing Campaign Against Antisemitism at [email protected] if there is any difficulty.
West Ham fans have been involved in a number of antisemitic incidents. Mark Harding was convicted for telling a Jewish fan to “stick your head in the oven like the Jew you are” in 2017, and in 2016 Richard Prendiville and a man identified only as R. Peacock were convicted over similar antisemitic chanting on public transport.
