Netherlands: Soccer fans beat Jew and sing song praising Nazis

Via JTA:

A Jewish man was assaulted on the Netherlands’ national holiday of liberation from the Nazis by revelers who sang about gassing Jews.

The man, identified in the Dutch media only as Joram, complained to police that he was pushed around, kicked and verbally assaulted with anti-Semitic hate speech by a group of about 50 men in the Hague on May 5, a national holiday known as Liberation Day.

Joram, 35, asked men celebrating in a park near the Dutch parliament building to stop singing the offensive song, whose lyrics include: “My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews ’cause Jews burn the best.”

The chanters then began pushing Joram around as police stood idly by, he told the AD news site and the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI.

The men were wearing soccer shirts of the Feyenoord club of Rotterdam. The club’s rival is Amsterdam’s Ajax team, which is widely associated with Jews.

The chant, whose use was first reported by the media in 2015, has proliferated in the Netherlands and Belgium in recent years. In some cases, fans chant it to taunt counterparts from rival teams.

Hidde van Koningsveld, the head of the pro-Israel CiJo group, last week told the Dutch media he experiences an anti-Semitic incident at least once a week in the Hague, where he works, because he wears a kippah.

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Italy: Focus on racist and anti-Semitic chants is a 'psychosis', say Lazio

Via France24:

Lazio blasted as "a psychosis focusing on either a minority or non-existent incidents" after racist and anti-Semitic chants overshadowed the team's 4-1 Italian Cup win over Novara at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

The chanting early in the first half was heard in Lazio's North End and was aimed at the club's bitter city rivals AS Roma, with taunts of "Yellow, red and Jewish" and "This Roma that looks like Africa".

It also targeted police who had clashed with fans on Wednesday at Piazza della Liberta in the capital when celebrations to mark the club's 119th anniversary turned violent.

Eight police were injured and four supporters arrested.

"I am here to talk about the racist and anti-Semitic chants that are supposed to have happened," club spokesman Arturo Diaconale told a press conference after the game.

"I am one of the 98 percent of people in the stadium who didn't hear them.

"The club naturally condemns any racist or anti-Semitic chants, but we have to consider the dimensions of the phenomenon.

"I think it's a form of psychosis focusing on either a minority or non-existent incidents.

"I read about chants as if the entire stadium had participated. We mustn't turn this into a mass panic over nothing. I invite our colleagues in the media to give the right degree of consideration to incidents that would normally be ignored," added Diaconale.

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UK: Antisemitic, racist and other discriminatory abuse rise in football for sixth straight year

Via Telegraph:

Reports of antisemitic, racist and other discriminatory abuse within English football have risen for the sixth year in a row, according to the latest figures from Kick It Out.

Football's equality and inclusion organisation has revealed there were a total of 520 reports of abuse last season, up 11 per cent from 469 in 2016/17, with racist abuse accounting for more than half of the cases.

One in 10 reports of abuse concerned antisemitism, while reports of disability discrimination more than doubled from 14 to 29.

The statistics are compiled from all levels of the game and include reports of abuse on social media.

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UK: FA condemns Nazi-saluting England fans filmed singing anti-Semitic songs

Via Jewish News:

The Football Association has strongly condemned the actions of a small group of apparent England fans after they were filmed singing anti-Semitic songs.

The video, which was reportedly filmed in Volgograd – the venue of England’s 2-1 World Cup win over Tunisia on Monday – was published by The Sun on Wednesday.

Footage appears to show at least two men taunting Tottenham over their Jewish heritage while performing Nazi salutes.

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UK: Soccer executive apologizes for equating Star of David with swastika

Via USA Today:

The CEO of English soccer's governing body apologized Monday for equating the Star of David with the swastika while listing political and religious symbols that the organization would like to keep out of the game.

Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn mentioned the two symbols as part of a conversation over the weekend related to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was reprimanded last month for wearing a yellow ribbon to support imprisoned politicians in Catalonia.

Glenn said Guardiola's yellow ribbon is a political symbol, unlike the English poppy, which British players and managers have worn to commemorate fallen soldiers.

"We have re-written Law 4 of the game so that things like a poppy are OK," Glenn told reporters. "But things that are going to be highly divisive, and that could be strong religious symbols, it could be the Star of David, it could be the hammer and sickle, it could be a swastika, anything like (former Zimbabwe president) Robert Mugabe on your shirt, these are the things we don’t want."

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UK: Chelsea soccer fans chant antisemitic songs a week after team started anti-hate campaign

Via Jerusalem Post:

Supporters of the Chelsea soccer team were caught singing antisemitic songs during a game held five days after the British club 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.

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Germany: 4th-tier club highlighting anti-Semitism in soccer

Via AP:

Despite being threatened with exclusion from Germany's northeast regional league, Babelsberg is refusing to pay a fine in a case that has turned a spotlight on anti-Semitism in German soccer.

Babelsberg is refusing to pay a 7,000-euro ($8,500) fine imposed by the Northeast German Soccer Federation (NOFV) after its fans chanted "Nazi pigs out" at Energie Cottbus supporters during a fourth-tier league game between the sides last April.

The club says its fans were reacting to right-wing chants from mostly masked Cottbus supporters, including, "Ticks, gypsies and Jews," and "Work sets you free" - a reference to Nazi concentration camps. Cottbus fans also performed Nazi salutes, as can be seen in a video circulated by the Berlin-based Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism.

While both clubs were fined for the trouble, which included the use of pyrotechnics by both sides and attempts to storm the pitch from Cottbus supporters, Babelsberg was particularly aggrieved that the NOFV made no mention of the Cottbus fans' chanting in its report, focusing only on the home supporters' response.

The NOFV said on Monday it was unaware of any right-wing chanting or Hitler salutes when it made its initial judgment. It was to hold a press conference on the matter on Thursday.

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UK: Police investigating claims of antisemitic abuse at Liverpool-Spurs Premier League match

Via JC:

Police are investigating allegations that Liverpool supporters directed antisemitic language towards Tottenham Hotspur players after the two sides’ heated Premier League match on Sunday.

Video footage appeared to show a Liverpool fan in the Main Stand section of Anfield using the term “Jewish c**ts” moments after Spurs forward Harry Kane converted a contentious penalty to draw the match level at 2-2.

“Three or four” fans in total were also heard calling Tottenham players “Yid c**ts”, according to a journalist covering the game.

He said: “There was about three or four people that passed me on the way out of Anfield who were engaged in it.

“One supporter spotted some Spurs fans celebrating Kane's penalty and started screaming ‘Yid c***s’ repeatedly as he left and was gesturing towards them.

“I'm sure (Liverpool’s) stadium cameras would pick him out if they provided it. Others just shouted about ‘Yids’.”

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Italy: Lazio fined for anti-Semitic Anne Frank stickers against Roma

Via BBC:

Serie A side Lazio have been fined 50,000 euros (£43,520) after supporters displayed anti-Semitic Anne Frank stickers last October.

Fans posted images of the Holocaust victim in a Roma jersey alongside slogans such as "Roma fans are Jews".

Thirteen Lazio fans have received stadium bans of between five and eight years in connection with the incident.

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Belgium: Jews demand soccer club stop antisemitic chants in the stands

Via Jerusalem Post:

The Belgian Federation of Jewish Organizations requested Friday that management of the Bruges FC soccer team crackdown on antisemitic chants in the stadium ahead of its Sunday match with the club Anderlecht.

According to a Friday report in Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française, the public broadcasting news outlet of French-speaking Belgians, Yohan Benizri, the President of the federation said that it is “continually trying to fight antisemitism, including in football stadiums. We regularly talk to clubs and federations about antisemitic chants and how they are dealt with during matches. This Sunday’s match will be followed very closely.”

According to the report, Bruges fans have chanted “Al wie niet spring is een jood” (who doesn’t jump is a Jew) during Bruges-Anderlecht matches. The chant “Jew” is meant as a pejorative term for the Anderlecht player.

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German soccer fans use photo of Anne Frank to mock rival team

Via JTA: 

Stickers showing a doctored photo of Anne Frank wearing a German soccer team’s jersey appeared in Dusseldorf, Germany, a week after a similar incident in Rome.

Fans of the Borussia Dortmund club are believed to have created the stickers showing the teenage Holocaust diarist in a Schalke team jersey. Borussia Dortmund reportedly has a number of neo-Nazis as part of its hardcore fan base.

Photos of the stickers were first posted on the German blog Ruhr Barone.de.

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Italy: Lazio fans leave anti-Semitic stickers of Anne Frank images

Via The Washington Post/AP:

Images of Anne Frank wearing a Roma jersey were among the anti-Semitic stickers and graffiti left by Lazio fans that were discovered at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday.

It was the latest in a long line of racist or anti-Semitic incidents involving Lazio supporters.

The northern curva (end) of the stadium where Lazio’s “ultra” fans sit was closed on Sunday for the match with Cagliari due to racist chanting during a match against Sassuolo this month. 

As a result, Lazio decided to open the southern end and let the ultras in where Roma’s hard-core fans sit for their home matches.

Stadium cleaners found the anti-Semitic stickers a day later.

The Italian football federation is likely to open an investigation, which could result in a full stadium ban for Lazio.

“There are no justifications. These incidents must be met with disapproval, without any ifs, ands or buts,” Sports Minister Luca Lotti said. “I’m sure that the responsible authorities will shed light on what happened and that those responsible will quickly be identified and punished.”

Lazio’s ultras have long been known for their far right-wing political stances and fascist leanings. During a 1998 derby, Lazio ultras held up a banner directed at their Roma counterparts that read, “Auschwitz Is Your Country; the Ovens Are Your Homes.”

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Netherlands: Soccer fans ridicule child Holocaust victims on Twitter

Via JTA:

Avram and Emanuel Rosenthal, 5 and 2 years old respectively, were rounded

up to be murdered shortly after their picture was taken in Lithuania in 1944

Soccer fans in the Netherlands used a picture of child victims of the Holocaust to taunt a rival team in what Dutch activists against racism called a new low for anti-Semitic rhetoric in sports.

The photo featuring two toddlers wearing a yellow star was widely circulated on Twitter under the hashtag #anti020week. The digits are the Amsterdam-area dial code, which in soccer jargon references the city’s main soccer club, Ajax. The picture, in which one child appears to be nearing tears, also featured the caption “When 020 had only one star.”

The children pictured, Avram and Emanuel Rosenthal, 5 and 2 years old respectively, were rounded up to be murdered shortly after their picture was taken in Lithuania in 1944.

Shared by many supporters of the Feyenoord team of Rotterdam, the photo offers an extreme example of how fans of Ajax rivals mock the memory of the Holocaust. Ajax players and supporters are often called “Jews” in recognition of the large Jewish community that had existed in the Dutch capital before 80 percent of its members were murdered in the Holocaust by Germans and Dutch collaborators. Some Ajax fans self-identify as Jews.

Past incidents included songs about burning Jews and the SS, and the use of gas and Hamas, but using archival photos of individual victims is unusual.

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UK: Chelsea condemn fans' anti-Semitic song about Alvaro Morata

Via ESPN FC:

Chelsea fans are embroiled in another racism controversy after the club condemned an anti-Semitic song about Alvaro Morata during their win against Leicester. 

The club-record acquisition from Real Madrid is quickly establishing himself as a cult hero at his new club and he headed his third goal of the season to open the scoring on Saturday. 

But the adulation he receives from some Chelsea fans embodies itself in a song aimed at fierce rivals Tottenham, who famously have a large Jewish fanbase. 

"Alvaro, Alvaro. He comes from Madrid, he hates the f------ Y---" sang Chelsea supporters at the King Power Stadium.

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Poland: Israeli soccer team attacked by skinheads after game

Via Jerusalem Post:

Two staff members of soccer club Hapoel Petah Tikva were slightly injured in Poland after being attacked by masked hooligans in what the Israeli Embassy said Thursday was an “anti-Semitic incident.” The attack occurred on Wednesday evening in Suchocin, a town near Warsaw, following a friendly between Petah Tikva and a local Polish club, MKS Ciechanow.

“After the match we went to the lobby of the hotel while a couple of our staff members were collecting the equipment. Around 15-20 skinheads came out of the woods and raced onto the field and began punching and kicking them,” said Petah Tikva coach Oren Krispin.

“One of the players in the lobby noticed this and we all ran out to help. Once the skinheads saw us they ran away.”

Club staff members Moshe Harel and Oz Batzon both suffered slight face injuries.

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Italy: Celebration of Nazism by fans of the Hellas Verona football club

Via European Jewish Press:

Jewish leaders in Italy denounced as "a true celebration of Nazism" a chorus of Nazi chants by fans of the Hellas Verona football club earlier this month. 

During a match, at the Bentegodi stadium of Verona, a member of the far-right Forza Nuova party hailed Adolf Hitler as "sponsor" of the  team. 

The Nazi chorus at the match appeared in an online video that has been on the web of many national newspapers. (...)

The Hellas Verona team also intervened directly: "We disagree with what happened during the match. We want to point out that this was a self-managed event and not of direct control and competence of the club. We are also convinced that this is an isolated behavior, which does not represent our fans. To protect and support our club, we would like to point out how our society has carried out many actions and awareness campaigns in recent years to condemn any form of discrimination and potentially harm any constitutionally guaranteed right and as in that perspective we will always act. "

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Austria: Rapid Vienna investigates fans’ anti-Semitic chants

Via Times of Israel:

Austrian soccer giant Rapid Vienna has launched an internal probe into club supporters chanting anti-Semitic slogans during a reserve team game this week.

A small group among the several hundred spectators were filmed shouting “Jewish pigs” after Rapid II lost 2-1 against arch rival Austria Vienna in Tuesday evening’s clash.

A video of the incident was posted on social media networks including Facebook.

Rapid described the behavior as “unforgivable,” saying it “trampled on the club’s values and principles.”

“Anyone who is found to have joined in these insults will be immediately banned from SK Rapid events,” the club said in a statement sent to AFP.

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UK: Video shows vile Chelsea fans singing anti-Semitic song before their FA Cup clash against Tottenham

Via Daily Mail:

Chelsea fans have been filmed singing an anti-Semitic song just hours before their FA Cup semi-final clash with rivals Tottenham at Wembley.

The group of supporters had gathered at the Green Man pub near the 90,000-seated stadium in London and some started singing the sick chant. 

Many were stood on benches and shouted 'I've got a foreskin, haven't you?' in an apparent attempt to taunt the North London club because of their Jewish connections.

At least 20 fans sang: 'We'll be running around Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing I've got a foreskin, haven't you? Have you f***.'

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Netherlands: Rapper chosen for Liberation Day show, caught on tape shouting antisemitic slogans

Via RTL Nieuws:

Hip-hop band Broederliefde (brotherly love) was chosen as "Ambassadors of Freedom" -  representatives of the Dutch Liberation Day festivities.

A day later, a video of one of the band members, Emms, started making the rounds, in which  he is shouting "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas" after Feyenoord's victory last year.

Emms apologized for his antisemitic statements.  "I'm very sorry for the things I said at that moment.  I used certain words that are often used by supporters of Feyenoord when they want to intimidate their opponents.  That is no excuse and I realize that it can't be tolerated."

The Liberation Day festivities committee said they were shocked, but will keep the group as their ambassadors.  They said the slogans were inappropriate, but given the reaction of the group they will remain part of the festivities.


The Liberation Day committee posted this clip to their site.  Broederliefde's visit to Auscwitz.

Greece: Supporters of schismatic monks protest against Jews

Via Against Antisemitism (h/t glykosymoritis):

Around 400 supporters of the schismatic Esfigmenou monastery on Mount Athos rallied in Thessaloniki to protest the recent conviction of the monastery prior and another monk to twenty years imprisonment each for construction, possession and usage of Molotov cocktails during an eviction of the order’s administrative offices in 2013.

The protesters displayed a huge antisemitic banner reading “Judeo-Masonry wages war on Greece and Orthodoxy.” [see photo below]

Earlier this month, protesters (zealots, football fans and Nazis) gathered outside Parliament in Athens to decry the conviction of the zealot monks chanting “Hands off the Orthodoxy” and “Jews out of Parliament.” [watch video below, 0’18’’] Golden Dawn MP Giannis Lagos was also part of the rally.

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