West Ham Urges Fans to Stop Anti-Palestine Chant Ahead of Home Game

West Ham have issued a sharp warning to their own fans, urging them to drop a chant the club says “contains an anti-Palestine message” ahead of their first home game of the Championship season.

The east London side, relegated from the Premier League last term, moved publicly on Thursday after the song was heard during Sunday’s opening-day trip to Burnley.

In a lengthy statement, West Ham said it was “aware of an offensive and divisive chant” sung by a section of the away support at Turf Moor. The club did not repeat the words, but made clear it wants it gone.

The timing is no coincidence. One of West Ham’s headline summer arrivals is Israel winger Manor Solomon, signed from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-year deal. His move has already stirred strong reactions in parts of the wider football fanbase, and the club is determined not to let that spill into hate inside its own stadium.

“We encourage our supporters to sing loud and proud about their football club and the players wearing the claret and blue shirt — but never in a way that creates division or causes offence among fellow fans,” the statement read, a pointed reminder as much as a plea.

The club stressed that the message was being issued to “remind supporters of the responsibility we all hold to represent the club in the right way”, underlining that matchday noise is welcome, but not at any cost.

All of this lands just days before West Ham welcome Charlton Athletic to the London Stadium on Saturday, their first home fixture back in the second tier. The football will take centre stage once the whistle goes, but the club has made its stance clear: the atmosphere can be fierce, the songs can be loud, yet the line on discriminatory chanting is not up for debate.