Ghent – About twenty AA Ghent supporters passed through the Langemunt in Ghent on Wednesday evening, the day before the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League.
Passers-by filmed the group singing an antisemitic song, which is often sung by football supporters. “My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS. And together they burned Jews, because Jews burn best,” they said loudly. The images also reached the Ghent police. “We have drawn up a report because of racism and xenophobia,” says Matto Langeraert, spokesperson for the Ghent police.
“We strongly condemn this. Unfortunately, these types of incidents continue to occur, both on and off the field.” The Ghent police like to refer to the awareness campaign ‘Come Together’ that the Belgian Football Association, in collaboration with ACFF, Voetbal Vlaanderen and Pro League, launched a few months ago. This action focuses specifically on condemning racism, homophobia and sexism on and off the field.
“KAA Gent condemns every possible form of racism. With our KAA Gent Foundation, our club is committed to inclusion and connection every day through numerous social projects. That is what KAA Gent stands for. At no time during the match was any form of anti-Semitism visible in our stadium. The incident occurred in the city on the eve of the match. The police have started an investigation, KAA Gent is awaiting the results. Together with the KAA Gent Foundation, we will now continue to work on this theme with Kazerne Dossin.”
