George Galloway sacked by TalkRadio over antisemitic gloating that Liverpool’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur meant there would be “No #Israël flags on the Cup!”

TalkRadio has sacked George Galloway from his role as a radio host following comments in which he conflated Tottenham Hotspur’s many Jewish fans with Israeli citizens. In a clearly antisemitic tweet, Mr Galloway stated: “Congratulations to the great people of #Liverpool to the memory of the socialist miner #BillShankley [sic] to the fallen #96 to those who fought for justice for them and to the Liverpool dockers. No #Israël [sic] flags on the Cup!”

In announcing Mr Galloway’s dismissal, TalkRadio said: “TalkRadio has terminated George Galloway’s weekly show with immediate effect. As a fair and balanced news provider, TalkRadio does not tolerate anti-semitic views.”

The tweet had provoked considerable backlash on Twitter. Liverpool’s Head of Club and Supporter Liaison, Tony Barrett, tweeted: “Please don’t include Liverpool Football Club in this bulls***. It’s the club of Ronnie Rosenthal and Avi Cohen. It’s the club of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. It’s the club of Parson Jackson and Bill Shankly (with no e). It’s a club of all flags, all religions, all nations and none.” David Wolfson QC responded angrily to Mr Galloway’s reference to Liverpool’s legendary manager Bill Shankly and the ninety-six victims of the Hillsborough tragedy, tweeting: “My Dad as a local solictor knew Bill Shankly. Offered a ticket, he told Shankly he couldn’t go on a Saturday as an orthodox Jew, so Shankly gave him a ticket to a midweek game — in the directors’ box. That’s who Shankly was. Don’t use his name or the 96 to promote your vile smears.”

Twitter however refused to take action.

George Galloway has a long history of baiting the Jewish community and he even blocked Campaign Against Antisemitism on Twitter after we highlighted an antisemitic tweet he had shared. In February of this year, he told Sky News that Luciana Berger, who was driven out of the Labour Party by antisemitic harassment, was complicit in a “Goebellian lie”, essentially accusing her of engaging in behaviour reminiscent of Josef Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propagandist. Mr Galloway’s use of the same language on his TalkRadio show was found to be in breach of broadcasting rules by Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator.