Chelsea fans still chanting antisemitic songs

Supporters of English Premier League soccer club Chelsea were caught singing antisemitic songs during a game held five days after the team launched a campaign to stamp out antisemitism among its fans.

After the match against fellow Premier League squad Watford on Monday night, an unnamed Chelsea fan told England’s Jewish News that he was hit with a “torrent” of antisemitic abuse and moved out of his seat for his safety.

Jonathan Metliss, who heads the group Action Against Discrimination, which is aimed at combating racism among European soccer fans, also was at the game and told the Jewish

News that he took photos of the alleged perpetrators for investigators. Metliss said he was “disgusted” by the fans’ behavior.

Chelsea announced last month that it would partner with the Anne Frank House, London’s Jewish Museum and other organizations to provide workshops on the Jewish culture in primary schools. It will also launch an education program for fans who have been banned from games for perpetuating antisemitism.

Meanwhile, after another Premier League game on Sunday, footage of Liverpool fans saying antisemitic slurs at Tottenham Hotspur players surfaced. Police are investigating the incident, London’s Jewish Chronicle reported.

Tottenham has long been considered a “Jewish” team because it once had strong support from Jewish immigrants in North London.

In related news, English soccer has experienced a 59 percent increase in incidents of racist, homophobic and other discriminatory abuse in the first half of the 2017-18 season, British anti-discriminatory body Kick It Out said on Wednesday.

The organization said it had received 300 reports relating to 282 incidents of abuse by the end of 2017, up from 177 incidents in the same period last season.

There was a 75 percent increase in incidents in professional soccer, a 14 percent rise in the amateur game and a 63 percent increase on social media.

About 49 percent of the 131 incidents reported in professional soccer took place in the Premier League.

Racism was the most common form of discrimination, accounting for 54 percent of incidents, with homophobia, biphobia and transphobia making up 22 percent.

Kick It Out chair Herman Ouseley acknowledged that the authorities have improved procedures to identify discrimination but said the statistics should “act as a wake-up call to everyone in the sport”.

“Ultimately, tackling discrimination must be a collective effort,” he said in a statement. “The leaders across all sections of society and football, as well as the broader public and football supporters themselves, need to take action, report discrimination and help us eradicate hatred.”

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