Tackling antisemitism within English football: a critical analysis of policies and campaigns using a multiple streams approach

Abstract

While the anti-racist movement in English football has been established for 25 years, antisemitism was not specifically addressed until much later – most publicly through anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out’s The Y-Word (2011) film campaigning against the use of ‘Yid’ in football fan culture. Antisemitism has occupied a sporadic position on football’s wider anti-racism agenda. Antisemitism in football is also a neglected area of research. The article addresses this academic indifference by contributing a critical analysis of the intermittent responses to antisemitism in English men’s football – by governing bodies, campaigners, and the criminal justice system – using a multiple streams approach to understand policy formulation, legitimation and implementation, arguing these attempts have usually been reactive and sometimes misguided, inconsistent, or misaligned with existing legislation. The role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ is considered in relation to individuals lobbying for and influencing the priority of tackling formations of antisemitism amidst broader attempts to combat racism and faith-based abuse in football. This empirically-grounded critical analysis is informed by primary data from interviews with elite stakeholders from English football (The Football Association; Kick It Out) and Jewish community (Board of Deputies of British Jews; Jewish Leadership Council; Community Security Trust; Maccabi GB). The article explains the changing political salience of combating antisemitism and concludes with a call for a more congruous and coherent approach to addressing antisemitism, faith-based abuse and other forms of discrimination in football, which might lend itself to other sports and contexts. It also critiques the utility of the multiple streams approach.