SM
Sports Mole words bigger AMP 2
Sheff Utd vs. Hull City: 10 hrs 26 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Baddiel: All fans should think carefully about the Y-word

:Headline: Baddiel: All fans should think carefully about the Y-word: ID:344799: from db_amp
Incidents of anti-Semitism have been reported at games involving Chelsea and Arsenal over the last two weeks.

Ivor Baddiel, the writer and director of a film about anti-Semitism, has asked football supporters to carefully consider their use of the Y-word.

The 55-year-old is the elder brother of comedian David Baddiel and has been attending matches at Stamford Bridge for 42 years. He is determined to educate fans of all clubs about anti-Semitism.

Baddiel's film was launched earlier this year, with anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out, as part of Chelsea's 'Say No to Anti-Semitism' campaign.

The short film intersperses footage of anti-Semitic chants, gestures and social media posts by football fans, alongside images from the Holocaust.

Tottenham supporters use the Y-word in large numbers, often about themselves, and there have been alleged uses of the word by fans from rival clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal, in the last two weeks.

"Part of the education of it is, absurd as it may sound, even when fans are chanting the most horrible stuff, they might think they're just being anti-Tottenham," Baddiel told Press Association Sport.

"But when you're chanting 'Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz'... that's the level you have to go to to show this is not just anti-Tottenham, this is horrendously anti-Semitic."

Recent incidents allegedly involving Chelsea supporters, which prompted a UEFA investigation, and Arsenal fans have heightened awareness of the issue, which could come back into focus as Chelsea and Tottenham have been drawn together for next month's two-legged Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said this week that Chelsea, including owner Roman Abramovich, who is Jewish, "will not rest until we have eliminated all forms of discrimination from our club", and insisted the use of the Y-word by Spurs fans was not a defence.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013 backed Tottenham fans' right to sing the Y-word.

A few days later Cameron privately admitted he was wrong to David Baddiel, saying he had been caught off-guard. However, his initial comments are the ones that are referred to.

In 2014, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against three Spurs fans for using the word because it could not be counted as "threatening, abusive or insulting".

That adds to the confusion, where there should be none, says Baddiel, whose interest is due to his religion, not his choice of football team to support.

He added: "The vast majority of Tottenham fans are not Jewish. So they're self-identifying using a racist word for Jews, purely because of history and their location.

"It's the equivalent of white people self-identifying as the N-word, purely because of location and history. They wouldn't be doing that in 2018.

"If there's a Jewish Tottenham fan walking down the street and someone comes up to them and calls them a Yid, they have to effectively turn around and say 'are you calling me that because I'm a Jew or a Tottenham fan? I need to know first before I can tell you whether I'm offended'. It's a ridiculous confusion."

The Baddiel brothers in 2010 worked with Kick It Out to produce a film, featuring Ledley King, Gary Lineker – both former Tottenham players – ex-Chelsea ace Frank Lampard and Kieran Gibbs, then of Arsenal.

'The Y-Word' was intended to heighten awareness that the language is a racist slur. He believes, anecdotally, the situation has improved in the eight years since.

Baddiel expects the recent scrutiny on discriminatory language will make people consider their language carefully in next month's double-header between Chelsea and Spurs.

He added: "Real change takes a long, long time. There will always be animosity between rival fans. It's just finding another way to express it."

amp_article__344799 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-12-21 12:48:15:
html db last update - 2018-12-21 12:48:15 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Arsenal

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool21155150203050
2Arsenal22128243212244
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest22135433221144
4Chelsea22117444271740
5Manchester CityMan City22115644291538
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle22115638261238
7Bournemouth22107536261037
8Aston Villa2210663334-136
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2281043530534
10Fulham228953430433
11Brentford2284104039128
12Crystal Palace226972528-327
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2275102732-526
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2275102743-1626
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs22731245351024
16Everton214891828-1020
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2244143251-1916
18Ipswich TownIpswich2237122043-2316
19Leicester CityLeicester2235142348-2514
20Southampton2213181550-356
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .