Leeds United have condemned fans for singing anti-Palestine lyrics in a chant about the club’s Israeli forward Manor Solomon.
On Boxing Day videos circulated showing supporters at Stoke City‘s bet365 Stadium – where Leeds won 2-0 – singing: “Manor Solomon’s on my mind, and he hates Palestine.”
A Leeds spokesperson told The i Paper: “Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and supporters could be breaking the law.
“The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
“Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour and tragedy chanting.”
It is understood the English Football League is also aware of the incident.
Solomon signed for Leeds on loan from Tottenham Hotspur towards the end of the summer transfer window and has since scored three goals and contributed a further three assists in the Championship.
Two of those goals came in the 4-3 win over Swansea City in November, while he added another and two assists in the 4-0 win over Oxford United on 21 December.
In 2023, Solomon, who was born in Kfar Saba, posted a number of messages on social media relating to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but his representatives were adamant they were pro-Israel statements as opposed to anti-Palestine.
His Instagram account was briefly taken down around the same time but that was understood to be a mistake by Meta rather than because of the nature of his posts.
Leeds now face a wait to hear if they face any sanctions over their fans’ chants. The FA have previously punished clubs by handing out fines, charging them with misconduct and implementing action plans requiring clubs to address offensive songs.
