Chelsea FC, CST and partners launch campaign to tackle antisemitism

Chelsea FC has recently launched a new campaign to raise awareness and educate Chelsea staff and players about the dangers of antisemitism in football. The campaign was officially launched at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea stadium, with the club owner, Roman Abramovich, CST Chief Executive David S Delew and CST 's Dr Dave Rich in attendance.

The campaign, Say No To Antisemitism, was launched to raise awareness of the impact of antisemitism on the Jewish community and wider society. It also aims to foster equality and diversity in football. This follows several claims of antisemitism against the club, including Chelsea fans singing antisemitic songs at a pub before their FA Cup semi-final match against Tottenham in April 2017 and later, in September 2017, fans were accused of singing chants about a player hating “the f***king yids” at a match against Leicester City. Following a Chelsea match against Watford last week, where a Jewish fan claimed they were “disgusted” by chants by Chelsea fans, the club has promised to ban any supporters found to use antisemitic chants.

The campaign will be overseen by a steering committee of experts, including CST’s Dr Dave Rich, Lord Peter Levene, Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck and representatives from the World Jewish Congress, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Parliament’s Working Group Against Antisemitism, Holocaust Educational Trust, Jewish Museum London and the Anti-Defamation League. 

As part of the campaign, Chelsea, alongside CST and Kick It Out, who recently released reports that they had a 59% increase of discrimination reports mid-way through the 2017/2018 season, published a guide for safety officers and stewards entitled Tackling Antisemitism in Football. The guide aims to educate readers about Judaism, the Holocaust, antisemitism in football, the law regarding hate speech and how to report instances of antisemitism in football.

CST wishes to thank Chelsea FC, Kick It Out and all other partners who were crucial to creating this campaign. CST hopes that this will help people who have been victims of antisemitism in football, and will help to curb the rising rates of antisemitism and discrimination in the game. 

Download Tackling Antisemitism in Football: A Guide for Safety Officers and Stewards.

You can also download a pocket version of the guide, which includes top ten things to remember about tackling antisemitism.