A Fulham supporter living in California is suing a state department after they refused his application to have the letters 'COYW' - or "Come on You Whites" - on his car number plate because it has racist connotations.
Jonathan Kotler, 73, has criticised the decision by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and claimed it has violated his freedom of speech.
The US federal suit filed on Tuesday states the university professor applied for a plate that would read COY-W.
It is an abbreviation of Come On You Whites, a slogan often used by Premier League club Fulham .
The BBC reports that Prof Kotler, who was born in New Jersey and now lives in Calabasas, has been a lifelong fan of the Cottagers.
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"It's just a shirt colour," he told the BBC. "The people at the DMV are either extra thick or very PC."
The 73-year-old is understood to have put in his application last year and included the reasons for his choice of letters.
However it was turned down, with the US federal legal case claiming the Department of Motor Vehicles said the COYW slogan could be considered hostile, insulting, or racially degrading.
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Much to Mr Kotler’s dismay, the abbreviation is used in a hashtag seen every weekend on many Twitter posts about the club.
It’s even claimed that Fulham owner Shahid Khan "uses the phrase" - and Mr Kotler has explained his reasons why he has contested the decision.
"I sent them tons of material," Mr Kotler, who teaches media law at the University of Southern California, told the BBC.
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"Press releases, stories from the British media, letters from the chairman who uses 'come on you whites'.
"I pointed out that many clubs in Britain are known by their colour - the blues, the clarets. Nobody thought the Liverpool reds were communists.
"Even when I did it, it was the furthest thing from my mind that anyone would object to it. I was shocked, absolutely."
