Leeds United have issued a statement condemning their own fans and issuing a clear warning after they were filmed singing an anti-Palestine song.
Daniel Farke's side were in action on Boxing Day, claiming a 2-0 victory away at Stoke City in the Championship courtesy of a brace from Joel Piroe.
The Yorkshire outfit are top of the Championship after the victory as they boast a superior goal difference to second-placed Sheffield United.
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But Leeds have been forced to issue a statement after a song about Israeli player Manor Solomon went viral for the wrong reasons. The chant circulated on social media and one clip racked up five million views.
In the concourse in the away end at the Bet365 Stadium, Leeds fans sang to the tune of Manfred Mann's 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy'. The lyrics were changed to say, "Manor Solomon's on my mind and he hates Palestine".
After the chant caused a huge stir on social media, Leeds said the language and chanting was "not acceptable" and warned that fans could be breaking the law.
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"Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and supporters could be breaking the law," a Leeds spokesperson said, as per The Mirror.
"The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
"Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour and tragedy chanting."
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The Football Association are also said to be aware of the chant, which was also audible on television when the game was going on.
Solomon is on loan at Leeds from Spurs and has three goals and three assists in 16 league games for the Elland Road outfit.
The 25-year-old, formerly of Shakhtar Donetsk signed for Spurs on a free after a loan spell with Fulham in the 2022/23 campaign. His Instagram account was briefly suspended by following a number of Pro-Israel posts, with Meta claiming the page was "removed by mistake” earlier this year.
It has been suggested by the Crown Prosecution Service that supporters engaging in tragedy chanting or discriminatory behaviour could be arrested or banned from stadiums as authorities look to crack down.
Topics: Leeds United
Josh Lawless