March 22, 2011
Dutch soccer player rues anti-Semitic chants
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A Dutch soccer player apologized for chanting anti-Semitic slogans caught on camera following a victory over a team with traditional Jewish support.
Lex Immers of the Dutch ADO Den Haag team apologized Monday in a statement on the team’s website for the remarks made in a bar with team fans.
Immers was caught on camera chanting “we’re going to hunt for Jews,” referring to the fans of the opposing team, Ajax, which is identified with Amsterdam’s Jewish community.
“I got carried away in the euphoria of a special win and at that moment was unaware of the offensive tone to an entire nation,” Immers said in a statement. “I regret it and will accept the penalty imposed on me.
“When I sing ‘We’re going to hunt for Jews,’ I mean that we want to beat Ajax. Nothing more, nothing less. The slogan ‘We’re going to hunt for Jews’ seemed innocent,” he also said in an interview in Voetbal International.
The team is investigating the incident and told ESPN that Immers would receive the maximum fine.
