A rise in antisemitism is behind a signficant increase of discriminatory allegations in grassroots football between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, FA data shows.
Allegations of discrimination relating to all religion increased 144% between the two football seasons.
The report from the governing body for football in England stated significant increase in just one year was “largely due to anti semitic remarks”.
Maccabi London director of football Gabe John said: “Politics and football, especially at grassroots level, are like oil and water.
“This is not just about sticks and stones, this is about deep-seated religious hatred.
“To bring religious hatred, but also political ideology of any sort, to a group of children who are there to enjoy sport at grassroots level couldn’t be more inappropriate.”
John claimed some of the abuse targeted towards the Jewish club including Adolf Hitler references, opponents not fielding teams due to political ideology, and even him being hit by a linesman’s flag during a political bust-up.
While just 2.55% of discriminatory allegations relate to religion, the FA has formed an antisemitism taskforce group in an effort to kick it out of the game and engage positively with the Jewish community.
Maccabi GB’s Tackling Antisemitism in Sport project manager Ben Sweiry said: “The rise in antisemitic incidents within British sport regrettably reflects the broader increase we’ve seen across society.
“Young people playing football on a Sunday morning should not have to contend with the complexities of international politics when simply trying to enjoy their sport.
“The best guidance is to follow the position set out by The FA shortly after the 7 October terror attacks and the subsequent war.
“Clubs and County FAs were advised not to bring any national flags, including Israeli or Palestinian flags, into football settings.
“These flags are now often viewed as political symbols.”
The Tackling Antisemitism in Sport project was created between Maccabi GB and the Office of the Independent Adviser on Antisemitism, Lord John Mann, to deliver antisemitism education across the sporting world, particularly in football.
The initiative has engaged with all 20 Premier League clubs, 58 English Football League clubs, and 43 of the 50 County FAs.
Lord Mann said: “The UK is the leader of tackling antisemitism through sport and the work with the Football Association, Premier League and English Football League should be further consolidated and spread through other sports.”
This follows the wider trend of antisemitism surging, with a report showing global antisemitism rising 340% between 2022 and 2024.
Gabe said: “The last 12 months have gone insane.
“We took the line from day one that we’re not making any political statements.
“We have to be holier than thou.”
An FA spokesperson said: “As the national governing body, our focus in this area for the next four years is to unite English football further to tackle the collective EDI challenges across our game.
“We’ll continue to work with our partners to confront this societal issue.
“We’ve seen how the power of football can bring communities together, and we want to continue to use our influence to deliver positive change.”
Feature image: Vejaa
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