A Jewish woman says was she asked to leave an Islington pub after she confronted Arsenal fans for chanting antisemitic slurs.
Katie Price, a comedian and writer from London, was watching the North London derby at the Cally pub in Caledonian Road on Sunday when she says a group of men started chanting "y****" repeatedly.
“At around the 89th minute, a group of men behind us started chanting ‘we hate Tottenham’ and we all joined in,” Price explained, "they ended the chant by repeatedly chanting the slur ‘y****’, which, as a Jew is incredibly offensive.”
She at first spoke to the instigator, saying "look, mate, no need to say that last bit", and explained she was Jewish and that it is an offensive racial slur.
But then another man allegedly became aggressive and called her "you dirty f****** y**", before others pulled at her Arsenal shirt, threatening to beat up her and her friend Jamie D’Souza.
She said: "They are five older men attacking a 26-year-old Jewish woman and her friend, being incredible hostile."
She added that after she walked to the other side of the pub, the manager came up to her and her friends and asked them to leave as the men shouted: “y**** go home”.
“The pub chose to remove me, putting me in an even more vulnerable position and protecting those who attacked me,” she said, “I spend so much of my time explaining how football can be an opportunity to unite people but yesterday was a let-down.”
She explained she felt comfortable at first, cheering for her team, wearing an Arsenal shirt, in an Arsenal pub, surrounded by Arsenal fans but that “the atmosphere changed completely” once the chants began.
Price says she is determined to use the incident as a way to open conversation and stand up against antisemitism.
She added: “I know that [the chant] would have gone on in all sorts of Arsenal pubs across the country and maybe they don't know what it means so I'm very determined to push back.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told the Gazette that they had made an appointment with Price and will be progressing the matter.
The Community Safety Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats, tweeted: "We are appalled by this awful antisemitic incident. We can confirm that we have spoken to the victim and are providing necessary support and advice."
Cllr John Woolf, Islington Council’s executive member for community safety, said: “We stand with our communities against hate crime, and will not tolerate hate crime in Islington.
“We are investigating this very disturbing incident, are in close contact with the pub, and working closely with the police.”
The Cally pub declined to make a comment.
Arsenal FC has been contacted for comment.
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