Football fans warned over 'Yid' chants
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FA warns fans they could face criminal charges over Yid chants
The FA has warned football fans that anybody including Tottenham fans caught chanting the word Yid at matches could face criminal charges.
The word Yid, or Yiddo, is widely considered an offensive term within the Jewish community, although many have disputed this in recent years.
However, the FA is getting tough on chanting it, and has published a stern warning to supporters on its official website.
The FA considers that the use of the term Yid is likely to be considered offensive by the reasonable observer and considers the term to be inappropriate in a football setting, the statement read.
The FA would encourage fans to avoid using it in any situation.
Use of the term in a public setting could amount to a criminal offence, and leave those fans liable to prosecution and potentially a lengthy Football Banning Order.
The move is designed to end the anti-Semitic abuse at matches, with both fans and players targeted in recent years.
Tottenham have notably been victim to such abuse, while former Chelsea winger Yossi Benayoun was subject of vile chants last season by his own supporters.
In response to the derogatory chanting aimed their way, Tottenham fans long ago branded themselves the Yid Army and often describe themselves as Yids in order to mock those who use the term against them.
But the FA does not see that as a justification for the use of the word from neither home nor away fans at White Hart Lane.
The FA has warned football fans that anybody including Tottenham fans caught chanting the word Yid at matches could face criminal charges.
The word Yid, or Yiddo, is widely considered an offensive term within the Jewish community, although many have disputed this in recent years.
However, the FA is getting tough on chanting it, and has published a stern warning to supporters on its official website.
The FA considers that the use of the term Yid is likely to be considered offensive by the reasonable observer and considers the term to be inappropriate in a football setting, the statement read.
The FA would encourage fans to avoid using it in any situation.
Use of the term in a public setting could amount to a criminal offence, and leave those fans liable to prosecution and potentially a lengthy Football Banning Order.
The move is designed to end the anti-Semitic abuse at matches, with both fans and players targeted in recent years.
Tottenham have notably been victim to such abuse, while former Chelsea winger Yossi Benayoun was subject of vile chants last season by his own supporters.
In response to the derogatory chanting aimed their way, Tottenham fans long ago branded themselves the Yid Army and often describe themselves as Yids in order to mock those who use the term against them.
But the FA does not see that as a justification for the use of the word from neither home nor away fans at White Hart Lane.
