Phil Hay disgusted at what Leeds United fans do, calls it ‘disgrace’
Phil Hay has expressed his disgust at certain chants sung by Leeds United fans, calling them a “disgrace”.
Writing in The Athletic (3 August), the journalist speculated as to whether chants about disgraced entertainer Jimmy Saville had “died a death”, while noting he was shocked that such chants had been allowed to continue at Elland Road.
The club have a history of controversial songs from the stands, with chants about Saville and other contentious subjects heard frequently around Elland Road and away from home.
When pondering what song Leeds fans should sing, but don’t, Hay wrote: “This is more a case of the chants that the crowd at Leeds might need to get used to hearing again. Doubtless, the Championship songbook is unchanged — Leeds Are Falling Apart and all that.
“Let’s just hope (as naive as it is to think this) that the Jimmy Savile chants have died a death. The way in which those have been allowed to persist is a disgrace.”
Unfortunate truth
Any fan who has been lucky enough to get themselves to a football match has undoubtedly heard some of the vile drivel that can come out of fans in the heat of a match.
Protected by the armour of the crowds, fans often feel that they can spout whatever nonsense comes to mind, be it racist, sexist, homophobic and so on. This is a problem across not just English football, but the world.
Elland Road is not safe from it either. Leeds have a famously passionate and vocal fanbase who have always supported their team in numbers through thick and thin. But again this ugly issue rears its head.
While the FA have pledged to do all it can to stamp out this behaviour and impose criminal records and banning orders on offenders, there is only so far this can go, realistically.
Hay points out his so-called naivety here, but such an issue can only be stopped if harsh punishments are in place for offenders and other fans call out such behaviour. Naming and shaming are the only ways to find the guilty, which could hopefully be enough to at least reduce the issue.
Leeds’ relegation will understandably be a massive cause of frustration for fans, and frustration on the pitch can often lead to such fan outbursts.
Of course, the players and staff can’t be blamed for such behaviour, but now is the time for Leeds fans to band together and leave discriminatory and offensive chants in the past and look forward to a promising rebuild under Daniel Farke.
In other Leeds United news, it has been revealed if the Whites are likely to make another signing before their Championship opener against Cardiff.