Ethnicity should have nothing to do with football identity

In London football there is a myth that Spurs is the Jewish team. Opposing fans have long sung antisemitic chants against Tottenham, and Spurs fans have long embraced the identity, singing ‘Yid Army’.

The FA has said that the word ‘Yid’ ‘is likely to be considered offensive by the reasonable observer’ and is ‘inappropriate in a football setting’.

The Community Security Trust, the Jewish body which fights antisemitism and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has backed up this position. Clarke Carlisle, the chairman of the Professional Footballers Association, agrees. Kick it Out, the campaign against racism in football, has published a video made by Ivor and David Baddiel which calls for an end to this ‘Yiddo’ stuff.