BRUSSELS—“Our parents were burning Jews, ” chanted fans of a Belgian football club in an antisemitic video.
After the broadcast of the video that shows deeply anti-Semitic songs by fans, Club Brugge issued a statement in which it condemns it and distances itself.
The video is from August 28th after a match between Club Brugge and Anderlecht. . After the match, several supporters of Club Brugge, who won the match 2-1, started singing : ‘’My father was part of a commando, my mother was SS, and together they burned Jews, because the Jews burn the best,’’Belgian daily La Libre reported.
Following the broadcast of this video, the club reacted in a statement. “Today there was an online video dating from August 26, 2018 in which anti-Semitic songs were sung. It is a small group, present at the match Club Brugge – Anderlecht, who broadcast these foul words. A few days after the match, the club was notified of these facts by its own fans and stewards. The club has been successful in identifying these individuals and has excluded them from stadium before taking legal action against them. The club strongly condemns such actions and intends in this way to distance themselves radically. Such behavior is unacceptable at Club Brugge.’’
The Belgian football League also ‘’firmly’’ condemned the antisemitic chants. ‘’Discrimination and racism have no place in our society and especially in our football, ” it said in a statement.
It is not the first time that club’s fans are singled out for antisemitic incidents.
Joel Rubinfeld, president of the Belgian League against Antisemitism (LBCA), noted that the phenomenon is not new and is even more and more present. “It is necessary that someone takes his responsibilities. The club management may not want to deal with this matter, knowing that it will create problems. Everyone is waiting for others to move, but no one is acting,’’ he said.
‘’We should be able to sanction fans who do not hide anymore because they know they will not be prosecuted,’’ he added.