Arsenal chiefs have hit out at anti-Semitic abuse from a section of their support around the north London derby against fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The Gunners won 2-0 to maintain their lead at the top of the English Premier League but the victory was marred by racist incidents.
A young Jewish woman has said she was threatened by a group of Arsenal fans when she asked them to stop chanting a racial slur at a pub in Islington while another incident took place inside the ground which the club have also commented on. In a statement released on the club website, they said: “We have been made aware of two disturbing incidents over the weekend involving anti-semitism which are now under investigation. There was an incident at the North London derby on Sunday involving Arsenal supporters in which one of our fans overheard grossly offensive anti-semitic statements made by another Arsenal fan.
“On the same afternoon, we were appalled to hear of an incident at The Cally pub in Islington, involving other anti-semitic chants. We recognise the impact this behaviour has on our many Jewish supporters and others and condemn the use of language of this nature, which has no place in our game or society.
“Arsenal must be a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, and we want to be clear that any kind of discriminatory abuse is not welcome at our club. We will not stand for this kind of behaviour and will take strong action against any supporters who we establish are responsible for such acts. Anyone identified will receive a lengthy club ban and their details will be passed to the police to commence legal proceedings.
“If any of our supporters witness any form of discriminatory behaviour, we urge them to report the incident to the police. If inside our stadium, report to a matchday steward or use our ‘See Something, Say Something’ service by texting 'FOUL' to 67777 together with a description of the incident and the location within the stadium. This enables supporters to report an incident safely and for us to act as quickly as possible.”
Former Rangers star Mikel Arteta is now manager of Arsenal with ex-Celtic man Kieran Tierney part of the Spaniard's squad. The full back came on as a late substitute.
