The English Football Association (FA) has reportedly ruled out the use of football chants featuring 'Yid', a derogatory term for Jews, saying that it is not acceptable and using it risks criminal prosecution.
The chant, which is used affectionately by supporters of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur but as an offensive slang by other clubs, have long been in a thorn in the side of football leaders striving to eradicate anti-Semitism at matches.
According to Sport24, the FA encouraged fans to avoid using the slang in any situation as they are concerned that that 'Yiddo' chants that might seem innocuous to Tottenham fans lead to far more sinister chants.
The report mentioned that offenders are liable to be prosecuted and handed a lengthy ban from attending matches, with the FA saying that it is aware that there are sections of fans at certain clubs who describe themselves using the term, or variants of the term 'Yid' while claiming that use of the term is a 'badge of honor' and not offensive.
However, the association mentioned that the use of the term is still liable to cause offence to others, whether Jewish or not, adding that by using the term in this manner, fans may make it harder to differentiate its use by themselves and by those who use the term in an intentionally offensive manner.
Acknowledging that 'Yid' is derived from the Yiddish word for a Jewish person, FA further said that in England the word has always been 'derogatory and offensive' and its use even divides opinion in the religious community.
Meanwhile, the report also said that Tottenham fans, a large amount of whom are from the Jewish communities in London, have been calling themselves the 'Yid Army' for decades, with club officials stressing that the 'call to arms' was intended to deflect anti-Semitic abuse at matches.
