Leeds United seeks prosecution of offensive chants
Leeds United are urging UK authorities to reclassify chants about Jimmy Savile as “tragedy chanting,” which would make them prosecutable as public order offences, reports BritPanorama.
The Yorkshire club asserts that its supporters face these offensive taunts from opposing fans at every match, despite Savile’s lack of any affiliation with the football team. The issue gained prominence during last weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Norwich City at Elland Road.
Both travelling and home fans reportedly sang songs referencing the disgraced former BBC presenter. Under current Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidelines, such chants fall outside existing legislation due to their absence of a direct connection to football. The CPS defines tragedy chanting as abuse related to fatal incidents or stadium disasters affecting players, supporters, or officials from rival clubs.
Examples given in the official guidelines include the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies, the Bradford City fire, the Munich air disaster, and the death of former Cardiff player Emiliano Sala. Tougher regulations introduced in 2023 enabled the prosecution of various football-related chants as public order offences, potentially leading to football banning orders. Nonetheless, references to Savile remain beyond the current scope of these regulations.
The FA has consulted with the UK Football Policing Unit, which has communicated with the CPS regarding this issue, but has been informed that singing about Savile does not constitute a criminal offence under the current laws. Leeds United’s stance now calls for the reclassification of this behaviour as a hate crime.
A club spokesperson remarked that Leeds United have lobbied for chants about Savile to be classified as tragedy chanting and hate crimes, emphasising that their fans are subjected to “sickening taunts” at every match. They condemned such chants as disgraceful to the victims of Savile’s abuse while also disapproving of retaliatory chants from their own supporters. The club expressed hope that media attention could initiate efforts to eradicate these chants, with support from relevant governing bodies.
The Football Association responded with a strong condemnation of offensive, abusive, and discriminatory chanting in stadiums. An FA spokesman stated that such behaviour is “unacceptable and can have a lasting and damaging impact on people and communities within our game.” The FA supports clubs and their fans in efforts to eliminate such conduct.
Katie Russell, co-founder of Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds, decried this approach, arguing that authorities are “clamping down on one type of tragedy and turning a blind eye to another.” She further noted that such chanting trivialises male sexual violence, describing it as triggering and distressing for survivors. Mick Ward from the Marching Out Together supporters’ group has called for police intervention, stating that authorities should take action against those singing about a “paedophile and a rapist.”
Under a cloud of moral scrutiny, the controversy surrounding chants about Savile at football matches serves as a stark reminder of the complex relationship between sport and societal issues, where accountability is more crucial than ever.
