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Tottenham Spurs Fans Could Be Arrested For Chanting ‘Yid’

We have some updates for you on the recent Tottenham Hotspur controversy. On Sunday’s game, any Spurs fans chanting “Yid” in the crowds could receive a warning or even be arrested, The Guardian reports.

Scotland Yard said its officers would be taking action to “stamp out” chants featuring the word, and said that while it had historically been perceived by some as acceptable, it caused “harassment, alarm or distress to others”.

Chief Superintendent Mick Johnson, the match commander on Sunday, said: “This topic has been debated at length but our position is clear: racism and offensive language have no place in football or indeed in society.

Though the Spurs have a lot of Jewish fans, and they’ve long called themselves the “Yid Army,” in September, the Football Association decided it might be time for the fans to retire the chant, considering “Yid” has long been regarded as an anti-Semitic slur. Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in— probably on the wrong side of the argument— claiming that fans should chant “Yid” if they want because if they use the word to describe themselves it can’t be considered hate speech. But what Cameron seemed to overlook is that “Yid,” like any other reappropriated word, might be used politely by members of the tribe, but it then gets used in hateful ways by others (another football team has chanted Holocaust jokes and “F– the f–ing Yids! F– the f–ing Jews!”).

Many, including comedian David Baddiel, spoke out against the word and its negative connotations. Football fans aren’t exactly known for their obedience, so we’ll see what happens on Sunday’s game.

Previous: David Cameron Defends “Yid” Chant at Tottenham Games

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