I have long argued that there is an issue in the UK with grown adults believing that, within the confines of a football stadium, they can behave however they choose. Mocking rival supporters and the opposition is part of British football culture and has been for decades, often viewed as an accepted element of matchday atmosphere.
Certain Everton supporters felt some Arsenal fans crossed a line on Saturday when chants of “Feed the Scousers” were heard from the away end. That reaction is understandable. It is not for anyone else to decide what individuals should or should not find offensive. However, among the countless chants heard across grounds every week, it is worth questioning whether this is truly the one that deserves singular attention.
Context of Football Chanting
Visitors to the Emirates Stadium have frequently sung, “This place is a s…hole; I want to go home,” yet such chants rarely prompt widespread calls for reflection. Against that backdrop, it felt disproportionate to see AFTV’s Robbie Lyle asking Arsenal supporters to look in the mirror after Everton fans explained that the city felt offended by the implications of poverty.
It is difficult to believe this required explanation. Football chants are rarely meant to be taken literally. They are designed to tease, provoke and unsettle, with away ends attempting to wind up home supporters and vice versa. Robbie has attended enough matches to have heard songs aimed at figures such as Van Persie, Adebayor and Ashley Cole, yet those chants have not drawn the same level of condemnation.
Inconsistency in Outrage
If the 53-year-old wishes to campaign for zero tolerance towards all verbal taunting between supporters, that is a valid stance. What becomes problematic is selectively criticising certain chants while remaining silent on others involving racism, homophobia or references to sexual assault.
It is also worth remembering that his platform was built on raw fan reactions, often featuring supporters directing extreme language towards Arsenal players and managers. This raises a legitimate question about consistency. Is calling someone the C word or telling them to “F off” less offensive than what was heard at the Hill Dickinson Stadium?
The irony is further highlighted by reactions to those in Liverpool who have booed the English national anthem, where critics are often told to respect freedom of speech. You cannot argue for sensitivity in one instance while dismissing it in another. Football culture demands either consistency or acceptance that provocation cuts both ways.
Dan Smith
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You should realise that the term Gooners were our hooligan firm along with The Herd, so the irony is your title can be seen as an insult to Arsenal fans, songs are sung at every game, it is used to unsettle rival fans, to put players off. I remember when we drew 4-4 with Liverpool, a huge portion of fans were singing the song about Torres being half a boy, he’s half a girl, and it got to him on the pitch. I make no judgement on songs but can understand why people fo it.
I don’t do titles mate
Must say this article does surprise me Dan.
I believed, from some of your previous articles, that football and it’s fans needed to be sanitised.
Unless I’ve read the article wrongly, are you now saying that’s not the case, simply because AFTV thought our away fans were over the top?
Kind of mate
I’m saying if you want zero tolerance have zero tolerance
So you can’t say it’s not okay to say ‘ feed the Scousers’ but not say anything about racial chanting
Likewise if Everton fans dont like that chant they can’t the next week sing something about someone else
Thanks for the reply Dan – I agree with you 100%.
It’s strange the writer calls me, extreme arrogant, very young gooner,a fan lack of football knowledge, troll and many more.
But I take it on the chin 🙂
Because that’s an opinion not banter
I can generally say examples that back up that opinion
This particular chant wasn’t just against Everton Football Club, but the whole of Liverpool’s population, many of whom have nothing to do with football, so in that respect I find it particularly offensive. And if visiting supporters think The Emirates is shite, who really cares?
And just to add…if some supporters get off on doing that, then I hope that they eventually make a complete recovery and find their kicks in more traditional pursuits.
The world we live in is a total mess and one of the biggest problems is the ‘woke’ culture that finds offense in anything and everything. Hate filled or racist chants of course need to be stopped and condemned but remove all humor from football and we’ll see people sitting in seats for 95 minutes every game, politely clapping a goal or a great tackle and there will be eerie silences around stadiums which will kill the spectacle and experience that football has always provided.
Why some people want a sanitized, controlled game of football and it’s support, I will never understand.
Feed the scousers was funny, it’s not a political statement, it’s not criticizing the lives of thousands or even millions of people in the Liverpool area. People who have tried to make something of this are sad, woke individuals wanting 2 minutes of personal ‘fame’ in a headline…. and AFTV know all about that, their reputation was built on it. Wokeness is a blight on modern life.
I wish all Bindippers a very merry Christmas and I wish everyone who is struggling with something in life, an upturn in fortunes and well-being.
Merry Christmas to all Gooners…….. Oh wait!! We shouldn’t say this because billions of people don’t believe in Christianity and it’s not in their faith……
See what I mean?
😄😄 let’s go feeding
Isn’t the rule “don’t feed”?
Sorry, but that is unacceptable.
If the scousers find it offensive, you have no right to insist it is funny.
Insulting others by calling them woke does not make your comments any more palatable.
You can wish people good will during this season if they do not celebrate Christmas. You can wish them Happy Holidays.
Seasons greetings to you.
But if you say don’t boo the national anthem
what will they say ?
David,
With some of the things you call poster’s on here, I find it a bit rich reading you’re post.
Raw banter is usually not received well and it does really get into somebody’s head, gaining a slight advantage albeit somehow not in an ingenious way!
It’s though a tough ask sanitizing it, due to everybody receiving and acting differently. And offcourse the double standards when the narrative doesn’t fit you.
This one is interesting indeed, it’s a very thin line between playfully teasing and bullying or ridiculing but it is mainly determined by respect, consent and mutual understanding, when it crosses the line, is when it becomes one sided, by then the damage is already done.
But one could argue, if you live into a glass house you don’t throw stone, and if your skin is thin this sort of chanting will cut deep, as these sorts of chanting relies on good humor but when fans are sensitive, even harmless joke can feel like an attack, so these sorts of humor needs mutual understanding and emotional resilience, as chanting can easily cross the line into real pain for those who can’t take it well
I do like the spontaneous ones. There was a televised match in which our supporters were being mocked by our opponents fans (can’t remember who) singing “you’ve only got one song, you’ve only got one song”, which prompted Alex Song to score the most sensational goal and our supporters (and myself) to then chant back “we’ve only got one Song, we’ve only got one Song”. Terrific!!!
Jax
This must have been a great one.
There just can’t be a response to this one, but how did the game ended. ?
But it true, Alex Song did seems the type of player that didn’t take much to pump him up
Gunsmoke, sorry I can’t remember any more about that game, although a little something makes me think Wigan.
👍🏻