Tottenham are under increasing pressure to take action against their own supporters after the influential World Jewish Congress urged the club to take an ‘overdue’ stand against those who self-identify with the Y-word.
Spurs fans will regularly chant ‘Y** Army’ and salute their players as ‘Y****s’ in recognition of the club’s Jewish heritage and in spite of the clear anti-semitic nature of the word.
It has served to undermine campaigns to banish the songs which have been recently led by Chelsea — a club owned by Roman Abramovich, a Russian Jew — who are determined to stop a small section of fans who persist in using the Y-word to taunt their London rivals.
Chelsea have been acting since the problem flared up among fans at a Europa League tie in Hungary, last month, condemning the ‘brain-power’ of those who continually ‘shame’ the club.
With Chelsea and Tottenham about to meet at Wembley, on Tuesday, in the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) issued a statement from New York.
WJC chief executive Robert Singer said: ‘Contrary to the protests of many fans, there is no grey area when it comes to slurs that target a particular religious, racial, or ethnic group. The word Y** has for years been re-appropriated from its original Yiddish to carry a distinctly pejorative and anti-semitic message.
‘The innocence this word once carried, as a simple translation for Jew, has long disappeared.
‘We hope that the actions being taken by Chelsea will establish the groundwork for more tolerance. We would also ask Tottenham to take a stand against the use of “Y** Army”, Y** and “Y****s” by their fans. Such a long overdue action is important to kick anti-semitism off the pitch.’
A Tottenham spokesman said: ‘We remain wholly committed to ensuring that a zero tolerance position is adopted in respect of anti-semitic behaviour. The Y-word was originally adopted in order to deflect such abuse.
‘We have always been clear that our fans (both Jewish and gentile) have never used the term with any intent to cause offence. A re-assessment of its use can only occur effectively within the context of a total clampdown on unacceptable anti-semitism.’