Hammers attempt to unsettle Mido and Defoe

Last updated : 22 November 2005 By Editor

From The Sun: Martin Jol last night branded West Ham fans "tasteless" for their sick chants at Spurs ace Mido. Hammers fans sang "Your mum’s a terrorist" and "Shoe bomber" at the Muslim striker yesterday.

Mido had scored the opener before Anton Ferdinand’s last-gasp header rescued a point.

Spurs boss Jol said: "Was it tasteless? Yes.

Spurs right-back Paul Stalteri added: "It is nonsense. It does not belong in sport and it’s a form of racism.

"I don’t think he will be affected by it. He scored a great goal today so he has given them the right answer."

From The Times: Leon Mann, who was at yesterday’s match and is spokesman for the Kick Racism Out of Football campaign, said: “We will be contacting West Ham about the incident. A lot of progress has been made but the introduction of players such as Mido and Yossi Benayoun present further challenges because fans need to understand that it is a form of racism.”

It is not the first time that Mido has been the target of opposition fans. Last season, Southampton held an internal inquiry after an official complaint was made over the behaviour of some supporters at St Mary’s.

To judge from the police presence and the helicopter circling above Tottenham yesterday, the authorities were taking no chances. About 80 people were arrested at a League Cup tie between the teams two years ago. There were nine arrests yesterday — one for racist abuse, one of affray and seven for breach of the peace.

From The Daily Mirror: West Ham were last night facing an FA rap after their supporters hurled racist abuse at Tottenham striker Mido.

The chants from the away end during the second half of yesterday's game at White Hart Lane were clearly audible and FA chiefs will wait for the match report from referee Alan Wiley before deciding whether to take action.

Asked about the insults, Spurs manager Martin Jol said: "It's a rhetorical question. I think you've already given the answer. What West Ham fans do is their responsibility."

Earlier this season, Hull launched an inquiry after similar chants during a game against QPR.

A section of the City fans targeted the visiting supporters with: "You're just a town full of bombers."

Football chiefs could now be forced to take action to clamp down on the new wave of insults.

Mido's Tottenham team-mate Paul Stalteri last night reacted angrily to the taunts.

The Canadian said: "Luckily it wasn't mentioned in the dressing room.

Jol’s decision to drop Jermain Defoe to the bench was timely considering it was the first time Spurs had faced West Ham since the striker’s move following relegation from the top flight.

From The Daily Mirror: Defoe would have been up for this game like no other this season.

Instead the England hitman was forced to endure taunts of ''There's only one greedy b******d'', ''Judas", "You're scum and you know you are'' and "You're just a small Paul Ince'' from the away fans still sore at his defection.