MPs and Peers of all parties lent their support at a launch of the ‘Y- word’ -a film from Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion campaign, aimed at tackling antisemitism and anti-Jewish abuse in football. Featuring a discussion with two of the campaign’s architects, David and Ivor Baddiel, the unique event was hosted by two All-Party Parliamentary Groups – on Football and Against Antisemitism.
The campaign was first made public in April with a video produced by the Baddiel brothers featuring footballers such as former Tottenham Hotspur Captain Ledley King, Chelsea Captain Frank Lampard and former England striker and now pundit and broadcaster Gary Lineker, exploring the use of the word ‘Yid’ by football supporters. England women’s star Rachel Yankey and Zesh Rehman, the Premier League’s first British Asian player, also feature in the film.
David Baddiel stated that ‘the film is not intended to censor football fans…It’s simply to raise awareness that the y-word is – and has been for many, many years – a race hate word. It’s our belief that some football fans may not even realise this, and the film is designed therefore to inform and raise debate.”
Moves are afoot by Kick It Out to work with the game’s governing bodies and education organisations to bring the film into schools, replete with guidance notes for teachers to absorb the film into pre-existing class room activities.
The film had already received widespread support from London’s Premier League clubs ahead of its debut screening. Since then, the video has had over 90,000 Youtube hits, screened ahead of England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley and received backing from the game’s governing bodies.
The original launch details including a streaming version of the film can be found here.
