West Ham must act, then hope that others follow

I have spent the last few weeks sulking about an administrative error by West Ham which meant my ticket application for the Tottenham match was never processed. It turns out that our hapless ticket office probably did me a favour. Not because we lost. Away fans must make these trips in hope rather than expectation, and brace themselves for the worst. When I recently embarked on a 600-mile round trip to Newcastle, the victorious outcome was a bonus rather than a prerequisite. No, what I spared myself on Sunday was the discomfort of having the moronic thoughts of my fellow fans rammed down my throat.

As with the possibility of defeat, it would have been naïve of me to have gone to the match thinking that I would avoid any anti-Semitic chanting. Ever since I have been attending West Ham-Tottenham matches, chants about “fucking Jews” and mimicking the noise of gas chambers have been commonplace. By commonplace, I mean that it happens at every one of these fixtures, not that a large number of fans take part. Any West Ham supporter who claims to be shocked by Sunday’s events betrays the fact that they haven’t attended many West Ham derbies. I’ve never heard anyone specifically refer to Hitler – as it appears 100-200 fans did on Sunday – but if you’re asking me whether amongst a sample of some 3,000 fans I am surprised that a minority would say something as moronic as "Adolf Hitler, he's coming for you", then no I’m not.

The Daily Mail were first to draw attention to, and condemn, the Hitler references. It’s good to see that a newspaper which supported Hitler when he was alive, has finally seen the error of its ways. Lots of words have been used to describe this behaviour: vile; disgraceful; despicable; abhorrent. But what defence do we have to these descriptions? None. More to the point, why would we even want to defend these morons?

I remember being in the away end at Elland Road in 2005, when a bunch of neanderthals in the row in front of me sang this:

            When West Ham win and Tottenham lose

            We’ll all be gassing the Jews

I cannot put into words how disgusted that made me feel, and how upset I was that another human being, West Ham fan or not, could actually refer to the killing of six million human beings in such a flippant, even gleeful way. I didn’t want West Ham to score after that. I couldn’t bear to see these scumbags derive any pleasure from the match. I just wanted the game to be over.

The club has already come out and threatened those involved with Sunday's chanting with life bans. It’s good to see them acting so quickly. Personally, I would have no objection to a life ban for anyone found mimicking a gas chamber. Good riddance.

The media is already full of vitriol. I would expect this story to run for some time. Worryingly, this is being painted as a problem specific to West Ham fans. This is an unhelpful way of viewing the situation, ignoring as it does a very important truth: a significant minority of football fans across the country hold very sick views and see the football ground as the platform to voice them.

Tottenham fans themselves have a steep hill to climb before they reach the moral high ground. It is they who regularly wished death upon Sol Campbell, whether by AIDS or “hanging from a tree”. Is that better or worse than singing “Can we stab you every week”? Does it matter? Isn’t it all just different shades of the same sick mentality?

Do I think Tottenham fans are any worse than most? Of course not. Millwall fans sing about Leeds fans being stabbed to death. Leeds fans sing about Man United players dying in a plane crash. Man United fans sing about 96 Liverpool fans being crushed to death. Liverpool fans sing this:

            There’s only one Harold Shipman

            The Scousers give thanks

            ‘Cos he only kills Mancs

            Walking in a Shipman wonderland

Last season, Nottingham Forest fans were appalled that their neighbours Derby County would be so sick as to poke fun at the death of their owner, Nigel Doughty. He who is without sin, boys. Is it any less acceptable than singing to Leicester City fans: “You’re just a town full of pakis”?

And on it goes right down to League Two. My local team as a child was Gillingham. A less offensive club you will struggle to find (in 2010/11, there were 326 banning orders in League Two, only one of which related to Gillingham). But what was their fans’ reaction when in 1998 Fulham fan Matthew Fox died at a match at the Priestfield Stadium following a fight outside the ground? This charming song:

            Who’s that lying on the alleyway?

            Who’s that lying on the floor?

Its Matthew Fox and he ain't very pleased
Cos he ain't going to Fulham anymore

I was 15 when I stood on a Craven Cottage terrace surrounded by grown men singing that. You’ll forgive me if very little shocks me anymore.

This is the sole aim of many fans: to wind up the opposition. At any cost. The subject matter may change, but it’s all variations on the same theme. Does anyone really think these anti-Semitic comments were considered opinions from the West Ham fans? Was it a message about Israel’s aggressive response to rocket attacks from Gaza? Of course not. It was just something to wind up the Tottenham fans. The fact that the topic was so shocking made it all the more appealing. That’s why the Daily Mail’s “history lesson” for West Ham fans today so badly misses the point.

I would be very surprised – and disappointed – if West Ham, part owned by a proud Jew, does not take severe action against Sunday’s perpetrators. This is our opportunity to make a statement. But the media and supporters of other clubs have a role to play in this, too. Put these events in the context of a nationwide problem, and there’s a slight chance we can begin to think of ways to tackle it. Paint it as a West Ham-specific problem, and we remain at square one.

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