A Labour MP has warned antisemitism is rife even at junior level in football, with reports of seven-year-old Jewish players being hissed at by their opponents as a way to replicate the noise of the gas chambers.
Christian Wakeford urged the government to do “much more” to ensure that British football players can play their “beautiful game” without being subjected to unacceptable abuse.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on antisemitism and other forms of racism in football, the Bury South MP warned there are examples of antisemitism everywhere in football, even at junior level.
Conservative former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, who led the debate, said the idea of people making hissing noises at seven-year-old Jewish footballers is “just revolting” and “profoundly disturbing”.
She insisted it is a “real illustration that antisemitism remains a serious problem in football”.
Culture minister Nigel Huddleston acknowledged there is “still more to do” but assured MPs the government is committed to continue to work with football authorities to “combat racism, discrimination and antisemitism both in person and online, from grassroots to the boardroom”.
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The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford should “get some proper HR advice” to understand what went wrong in the handling of a complaint against Patrick Grady, one of his MPs said.
The Glasgow North MP was suspended from the Commons for two days and the SNP for a week after an independent investigation found he had acted inappropriately towards a member of party staff in 2016.
Grady apologised in the Commons over the incident, which the report said happened while he was under the influence of alcohol.
But a recording that surfaced on Friday of an SNP group meeting drew criticism for the leader, who could be heard saying Grady deserved the group’s support upon his return, despite the complainer saying his life had been made a “living hell” and he had not been supported through the process.
The man who complained, who still works for the party, said he was considering legal action against the SNP.
In a response to the leaked recording, Blackford said he “deeply regrets that a member of staff was subject to inappropriate behaviour”.
He added that he was initiating an external review of “support available to staff, to sit alongside the independent advice service and independent complaints process”.
Joanna Cherry, SNP MP for Edinburgh South West, called for Blackford to ensure he took “proper HR advice” on Thursday, after repeating claims that the party had issues in dealing with complaints.
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