Ignorance is not and should never be considered an acceptable excuse for racism. It is little different to the use of the obvious “n” word.

Personally, that distinction seems like hair-splitting to me. I mean, you could argue that “Paki” isn’t racist either, because there is no racial distinction between South Asian Muslims and Hindus , so “really” it’s just a religious term. Which is OK, apparently.

How does that work in Northern Ireland, then? Is it OK to use religiously-tinged invective in public places there? Or are there laws against it. And if there are laws, why wouldn’t they apply in this case?

Two Arsenal fans had been arrested at White Hart Lane for using racist abuse when they had simply been singing the old ‘We hate Yids’ song and I was asked to provide expert testimony to prove the association the word ‘Yid’ has with Spurs fans.

It was pretty straightforward and the case was dropped as soon as the prosecution lawyers were handed my report and so I really am amazed that this has come up again.

As this article says; the question, instead, seems to hinge on whether or not chants involving the word “Yid” are racist in this context. No they are not racist. They may be viewed offensive to those of the Jewish faith but the same could be said most football chants that are there to cause offence to certain groups of supporters.

Anti-semitism is racism but because Jews a) aren’t a particularly visible minority and b) aren’t really seen as a marginalized group within society, this kind of chanting is seen as a little more benign than – say – monkey grunting.

But good on these fans. Someone needs to spur (no pun intended) Premiership clubs to get serious about this issue.

(This isn’t just a football issue in England, either. I heard some of the most appalling anti-semitic drivel come out of the mouth of a very senior member of HM’s civil service at a conference last May. I understand that he was trying to suck up to the Saudis who were hosting the event, but there was absolutely no need for it.)