It's Not Banter It Is Racist

Hot on the heels of the resignation of the chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club following the investigation of racist behaviour at the club, this morning's football news headlines include video footage of West Ham supporters verbally abusing a Chasidic Jew on a flight to Belgium before a European cup-tie. 

There is a song about circumcision that is often chanted by so-called fans of teams playing against Tottenham, a team considered to have a particularly large fan-base in the Jewish community. The video today shows a man dressed in traditional Chasidic fashion making his way down the aisle of an airplane. The song can be heard as he passes by men who are singing it. Many are smiling and laughing, and some appear to be filming the incident. There is no reason to think this man is a fan of any football team, including Spurs. He is clearly being targeted for being a Jew. Some may say this singing is typical football banter. Even if you think that, rather than it being inherently racist, in this moment it was clearly a racist act.

A few years ago I was on a Metropolitan Line train around 2 pm on a Saturday. The carriage was full of West Ham fans on their way to a match. That was the first time I heard the song. On the one hand, it sounded innocuous - a bunch of grown men singing, "we'll be running round Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing I've got a foreskin I've got a foreskin you ain't!" But typing these words cannot share the menace in those voices, nor the mean hard looks on their faces as they belted out their chorus of hate. Opposite me, a parent with a child sporting a Hammers replica shirt put a protective arm around their loved one. It was scary.

A spokesperson for the club has stated, "West Ham United is appalled by the contents of the video circulating on social media and condemn the behaviour of the individuals involved." They said that if they identify individuals involved, they will receive an indefinite ban from the club. Meanwhile, the video appears to have been removed from Twitter.