Baddiel film aims to kick the Y-word out of football

TO MANY fans of Tottenham, the term "Yiddo" is a badge of honour,coined decades ago to mark out the football club's Jewish identityin the face of abuse and prejudice.

To the comedian and broadcaster David Baddiel, it is also a termwith a deeply malign undertone, which offers an excuse to thesupporters of other teams to launch into anti-Semitism.

Today, Baddiel and his brother Ivor will premiere a film, Y-Word, featuring Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Tottenham's Ledley King,which they hope will persuade the football world that it is not aterm to be welcomed.

Since "Yid" and "Yiddo" chants are never heard in the final Matchof the Day highlights edit, the Baddiels had to capture videofootage from phones and gather material from the internet. The filmincludes YouTube footage of fans singing: "Spurs are on their way toAuschwitz, Sieg Heil, Hitler's going to gas them again."

Baddiel was watching Chelsea play Aston Villa at Stamford Bridgetwo seasons ago when the news that Tottenham were losing at home toHull City flashed on the big screen. He and his brother have becomeuncomfortably familiar during four decades of following Chelsea of"Yiddo" - a word with a complex, 700-year-old etymology whichtranslates as "Jew" and has a self-deprecatory use for some. Butwhat they heard that day took anti-Semitism to another level.

"People started up a triumphalist 'Yiddo' chant," Baddiel toldThe Independent yesterday. "Then a bloke behind us started singing'Fuck the Yids'. Then he moved on to 'Fuck the Jews'. My brother,who is slightly harder than me, or maybe just a bit bigger, told himto shut up. The fan told my brother to fuck off. There was noviolence, but the threat of it was very present." Chelsea offered toinvestigate but instead the film idea took root, developed with theKick it Out organisation, fighting against prejudice in football.

"Clubs are keen on one level to take on racism but also keen thattheir club should not be seen as racist," Baddiel said.

'The Y-Word' can be seen at www.kickitout.org from noon today.