UK Soccer Fans Barred From Games for 3 Years After Subjecting Fans to Nazi Salutes, ‘Hissing’
by Algemeiner Staff
Two soccer fans in the UK were banned from attending matches for the next three years after they were caught making Nazi gestures and “hissing” at Tottenham supporters, the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
One fan, the relative of Holocaust survivors, recalled hearing one of the two men — Thomas Flynn, 22, and Michael Haydon, 23 — chanting “gas the Jews.” Another fan said he saw one of the two placing his finger under his nose and making hissing sounds, apparently mimicking a gas chamber.
The two reportedly admitted to the charges of abusive and insulting behavior in a religiously-aggravated public disorder. In addition to being barred from games, the Southampton Magistrates’ Court handed them a restraining order prohibiting them from approaching St Mary’s Stadium before and after games and 12 weeks community service. They were also ordered to pay a £145 ($211) fine.
The two were also required to give their passports to police when attending games abroad.
Tottenham, a borough of North London, has a sizable Jewish population and therefore a large number of Jewish fans. Fans have faced antisemitic harassment in the past, and many fans adopted the name “Yids” as a protest.