Disclaimer: It is important to note that ‘Yid’ is a derogatory and offensive slang description of a Jewish person. It carries an underlying notion of antisemitism and will be referred to as “Y*d” in the article.
The term ‘Y*d’ is derived from the Jewish dialect known as ‘Yiddish’. It was a language that was widely spoken prior to the Holocaust and shared many similarities with the German language. The word was thereafter used derogatorily, with racist and antisemitic implications against the Jews.
English club Tottenham Hotspur have quite a large Jewish fandom. The presumption is formed since North London has a large Jewish population and the club’s three chairmen since 1982 are all Jewish businessmen.
The fans and the club have been exposed to insults from rivals and are vulnerable to people with ignorant and racist intentions. Fans of rival teams have been heard using shouts and songs that are inherently anti-Jewish, including the infamous Nazi salute and some very horrific analogies to the Holocaust.
Now, a Jewish woman has claimed that she was harassed by a group of rival team Arsenal’s supporters when she requested them to quit chanting a racial slur.
The said woman, though, is claimed to be not on social media and therefore, her friend, Lily O’Farrell, spoke on the victim’s behalf.
Lily O’Farrell shared her friend’s painful experience on social media, saying she and her friend Katie Price, a comedian, went to a pub called ‘The Cally’ on Caledonian Road in Islington to see the North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal on Sunday, which finished 2-0 in favour of the red team.
Ms O’Farrell stated that she was with fellow Arsenal fans who were singing ‘We Hate Tottenham’ chants before they became anti-semitic near the end of the game.
She goes on to say, “they end the chant by repeatedly chanting the slur ‘Y*ddo’, which, as a Jew is incredibly offensive.”
Read the whole story in her own words here:
Even after asking the men to stop with the racial slur, the group did not. In fact, they acted on the information in exactly the opposite of what was intended, shouting “you dirty fucking y*d” while also threatening to beat them up.
The duo had to leave the pub with chants of “Y*iddo go home” and “Off you go”.
And even still, the fans in the club were not letting up. Imagine 40 or so men intimidating a couple of women because of their religion. Doesn’t sound like 2023 does it?
Unfortunately, it is very real, and it’s happening in the heart of London.
Lily and Katie have reached out to the Metropolitan Police and the police are actively investigating the matter.
The pub manager, Edmond, has come out to save himself and his staff from the situation, claiming that security personnel dealing with the incident were unaware of the scene and the setting in which it transpired and basically took steps to de-escalate what they thought was a regular brawl at the time.
Maybe he is telling the truth, but questions have to be raised. What part of 40 men vs a couple of women fight seems regular? And could he not hear “Y*ddo go home”?
Either way, the pub has said that they are now in contact with the police to find the culprits responsible and are cooperating with them.
Jews have been through some of the worst levels of discrimination that has ever been seen in this world. Football is the one place where we, the fans, can play an active role to make sure that doesn’t happen. Let’s stop using the Y-word and let the beautiful game stay beautiful.