A "Yid Army" t-shirt worn by some supporters of English football club Tottenham Hotspur.

The Football Association of England has warned fans against using the term “yid,” saying it considers the term offensive.

In a statement posted to the Association’s website, FA general secretary Alex Horne said that “although the term derives from the Yiddish word for a Jew, its use in the English language has been, both historically and in contemporary use, derogatory and offensive.”

The FA, he stated, believes that the word “is likely to be considered offensive by the reasonable observer and considers the term to be inappropriate in a football setting.”

Horne added that the “use of the term in a public setting could amount to a criminal offense.”

Some supporters of Tottenham Hotspur, a club located in an historically Jewish neighborhood of London, refer to themselves as the “Yid Army,” a phrase even emblazoned on T-shirts.

The FA acknowledged that it is hard to determine which fans are using “Yid” in an “intentionally offensive manner” or when “use of the term is a ‘badge of honor’ and is not intended to be offensive.”

“Nevertheless, its use is still liable to cause offence to others, whether Jewish or not,” the FA said.