LONDON: West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said Tuesday those Hammers fans who chanted anti-Semitic abuse at Tottenham Hotspur supporters would be caught and punished.
Some West Ham fans were reported to have mocked the gassing of Jews in the Holocaust and chanted about Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during Sunday's game between the clubs, in reference to Spurs' links to the Jewish community.
The incidents at White Hart Lane, where Tottenham won 3-1, came just days after a Spurs fan was stabbed before a Europa League game against Lazio in Rome in an apparently anti-Semitic attack by Italian hooligans.
West Ham supporters also sang “Viva Lazio”, “Can we stab you every week?”and hissed on several occasions, apparently mimicking the noise of the gas chambers used in the mass execution of Jews during World War II.
The Hammers have already banned one fan for life and Allardyce said cameras at White Hart Lane will help catch other fans engaged in offensive chanting.
Asked if those found guilty of such behaviour should be banned for life, Allardyce replied: “Yes. It's a small minority but at the end of the day a small minority can make themselves heard at football matches if they really want to and we must deal with it.
“The good thing is with security cameras and CCTV cameras, it's difficult for them to get away with it. Hopefully we can pick out those people and punish them in the right way.”
West Ham co-owner David Gold, who in an article for Monday's Daily Mail said he was “very proud of my Jewish heritage”, has said such actions “will not be tolerated” among the club's support.
Meanwhile the Hammers' Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun said he was “embarrassed” by the chanting.
Allardyce added: “It's very, very disappointing to hear what has been said and done by a small minority of fans. No one condones that sort of behaviour.
“I don't wish to hear any of that sort of chanting in the game of football anywhere in this country.
“We have to continue to do all we possibly can for it not to happen.”
The Football Association (FA) announced on Monday they had launched an investigation into the incidents at White Hart Lane while police revealed two West Ham supporters had accepted police cautions after being arrested “on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence” during the game.
