Tottenham Hotspur has had a week that many who consider themselves soccer fans would not like to remember.

Although they came out on top in a 3-1 victory over West Ham United on Sunday, Tottenham left the stadium feeling uncomfortable, after spending a good portion of the match receiving anti-Semitic chants from a small portion of West Ham supporters.

These anti-Semitic chants come days after Tottenham took a trip to Rome to face Lazio fora Europa League match, which came with a large amount of anti-Semitic abuse and one Tottenham fan being stabbed in a confrontation at a local bar in Rome shortly after the match.

West Ham fans were reportedly found chanting “Viva Lazio” throughout a portion of the match, and were also found mocking the gassing of Jews during the Holocaust.

The Football Association, along with West Ham United, plans to look into these chants and  punish those found guilty, which could involve lifelong bans from the grounds.

But the questions still remain: Why is Tottenham such a common target? Why has the abuse increased now? And why do these types of chants still exist in today’s game?

Being from the North London area, Tottenham has a large Jewish fan base. And being one of the oldest clubs in England, founded in 1882, their fans have gone through many years in which anti-Semitic abuse was sadly common.

Tottenham supporters joined together to nickname themselves “Yids,” not because their rivals called them this, but because they believed that accepting the name would take the negative connotations out of it, and later help stop the unnecessary abuse. Other fans disagree with taking the nickname as their own; many believe that accepting it would lead to more and even worse abuse from rivals.

It is not just Tottenham that are receiving abuse from their rivals.

Other well known rivalries have led to harsh abuse over the years. For example, Liverpool and Manchester United are always having issues: some Liverpool fans reference the Munich Air Disaster in their chants, and some Manchester United fans can be found chanting about the Hillsborough Disaster.

The reason why such racial and anti-Semitic abuse has increased in recent weeks is not quite clear. There is always tension between fans, and with international championships like the UEFA Champions League underway, teams from different countries travel to one another, and often travel straight into the firing line of racial and anti-Semitic abuse that goes far beyond the soccer pitch.

Something that has made soccer into the beautiful game that everyone has come to know and love, is that the long histories that each club has with its fans is well known by all. Although hooliganism has decreased a considerable amount in the past couple of decades, many of the older supporters from past generations have left a somewhat disfiguring impression on modern day supporters, and on what they consider to be morally correct actions. This explains how many of these chants and songs have stood the test of time, and are still used today.

Unfortunately, much of the old ways of being a fan have found their way into modern day. Even though the racial and anti-Semitic abuse is considered wrong and immoral, it is still used and could be considered common banter. In the end, we as supporters need to look at ourselves and ask if it is necessary. Only then will supporters who choose to chant these insults realize all they’re doing is hurting their own club, and themselves.

Image Courtesy : Tottenham Hotspur

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Atletico Madrid sealed their second Europa League trophy in three years, as they saw off rivals Athletic Club 3-0 on an entertaining night in Bucharest. Two goals from star man Falcao gave Atletico an untouchable first-half lead, before a late piece of magic from Diego finished the game off for the 5th side in La Liga.

It was all set up to be a carnival of beautiful soccer, from two teams who have impressed the continent throughout the tournament. The Bucharest crowd didn’t have to wait long to be impressed: little over five minutes passed before star striker Falcao cut inside, and hurled a stunning left-footed effort into the corner, to put Atletico Madrid 1-0 up.

The game didn’t quite come to life, as many would have expected after that early goal. Athletic Club looked uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, but the Basque side started to play their trademark soccer as the first-half went on, and they were creating chances because of it, but Fernando Llorente couldn’t find his shots, as he sliced an effort just wide of the posts.

The people’s favorite, Athletic Club began to get on top, and were pushing Atletico back into their own area consistently. Iker Muniain threatened with a long-range effort, which Courtois could only push away. But for all their mastery, Athletic were the masters of their own downfall. Amorebieta failed to clear the ball away, and when it finally found its way to Falcao, the Colombian striker made no mistake, as he turned the defenders inside out and smashed Atletico into a two-goal lead.

The star of the show, Falcao may have been lucky to stay on the pitch shortly after his opener, when he planted his foot into Iraizoz’s groin. Whether it was intentional is open to interpretation. The first half fizzled out without any further drama though, and Athletic needed quite a response. Marcelo Bielsa was determined to get that reaction by bringing on Gomez and Perez for the second half, and he almost got it, when Muniain’s low cross was deflected behind by Miranda.

The match was as fast-paced and all action, as it had been before the break, with Atletico relatively happy to sit on their two-goal lead to soak up the pressure from their Spanish rivals. The trailing side was pressing hard, but couldn’t break down a stubborn defense, with Diego Godin at the heart of  keeping Atletico’s two-goal lead intact. Athletic Club seemed to struggle with the pressure of a final cup, and were a world away from the carefree team everybody saw playing Manchester United off the pitch a few months ago.

But the team sitting 9th in La Liga wouldn’t give up. Fernando Llorente had an effort blocked before Gomez blazed over, and they came forward again. Some great work by Muniain this time ended in De Marcos smashing the ball over the bar, as Marcelo Bielsa grew increasingly frustrated on the touchline. Still Bilbao didn’t give up, though Susaeta came close, as his on-target effort was deflected agonizingly wide of the post.

It was a game that felt as if one goal would spark a sensational comeback. Llorente was once again denied by a stubborn Atletico defense, before Susaeta was denied this time by Courtois, before Falcao almost completed his hat trick,with a deflected effort onto the post, as the game became increasingly open. But with five minutes to, another individual moment of brilliance wrapped things up for Atletico Madrid, when Diego dribbled through the defense and found the far corner, and at least one European trophy would be going back to Madrid.

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Former English champions Chelsea recorded a comfortable victory at home over Belgium side Genk tonight, winning 5-0 to cement their place at the top of the group.

With the home crowd cheering them on, Chelsea got off to an electric start, and were 2-0 up in just 12 minutes. The first goal fell to Raul Meireles, the Portuguese midfielder picking up the ball outside the box, and letting fly with a precision effort which flew into the bottom corner of the goal, evading the clutches of Genk goalkeeper Laszlo Koteles.

Just minutes later and Koteles was once again fishing the ball out of the back of the net, this time thanks to a Fernando Torres strike. The Spaniard had seen the run of Frank Lampard, and positioned himself perfectly for the through ball. Torres then had no difficulty with the simple task of slotting the ball past Koteles in his trademark fashion.

For someone who had not scored previously for Chelsea in the Champions League, Torres was certainly out to make an impression, and was soon celebrating his second goal of the night. Previous goal scorer Meireles turned provider, playing in an inch perfect cross for Torres to head home and effectively secure the three points with less than half an hour played.

Despite defending in numbers, Genk found themselves 4-0 down before half-time, with defender Branislav Ivanovic getting in on the action. The powerful Serbian broke away from his marker and headed Florent Malouda’s free-kick past the beleaguered Koteles.

Torres continued to hunt for his hat-trick after the break, but to the credit of Genk’s defence, they were keeping the striker frustrated. Having looked very suspect in the first-half, Genk seemed to rally somewhat in the second, managing to hold onto possession for a significant amount of time. They even enjoyed the odd foray into the Chelsea box, however, these attacks amounted to very little, and the Belgium side looked incapable of fashioning any meaningful chances.

Chelsea’s patience paid off finally though when Jose Bosingwa’s cross was met by Torres, with the striker denied by a fantastic point blank save from Koteles, although the rebound by Salomon Kalou was asking too much of the goalkeeper, and the home side were celebrating their fifth goal of the night.

The win moves Chelsea up into first position in the group, helped largely by Valencia’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen, and the Blues will now feel confident of topping one of the hardest groups in the Champions League.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/ChelseaFC

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