Third man arrested over antisemitic chanting by West Ham fans on flight to match

A third man has reportedly been arrested after a video surfaced last week of West Ham fans chanting an antisemitic song at a Hasidic passenger on a flight to a match.

Two men have already been arrested in connection with the incident, during which West Ham supporters, on a Ryanair flight to Belgium where their club was playing KRC Genk, were filmed chanting “I’ve got a foreskin haven’t you, f***ing Jew” at a Hasidic fellow passenger.

A 31-year-old man from Dartford was arrested on 8th November after he voluntarily attended a police station 

Essex Police Chief Superintendent Tom Simons, who is leading the investigation, said: “Essex Police will not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind. Having been made aware of the incident this morning, officers worked quickly to secure an arrest at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Ryanair asking what was done to protect the Jewish victim of the antisemitic chanting by the West Ham fans and how the airline will help the club identify and ban these supporters for life.

West Ham and the Premier League have adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is not the first time a minority of West Ham supporters have engaged in grotesque antisemitic abuse. We commend both the police for these arrests and the club for swiftly imposing bans on those from the video whom it identifies. Football clubs have long said the right things about kicking racism out of the football, and it is reassuring that West Ham is taking this opportunity to translate those promises into action. We are in contact with Ryanair to understand from the airline what action its crew took on board to protect its passenger from racist abuse.”