Norwich City is engulfed in a row over antisemitism after one of its 'anti-discrimination ambassadors' said the club should not sign any Israeli players.
Jessica Pye, a member of the club's supporter panel, made the remarks after the Canaries were linked with a move for Liel Abada, an Israel international winger.
The panellist responded to reports of the club's interest online, writing on X: "It's a no from me. You wouldn't sign a Russian, so why sign an Israeli?" and adding "Ban Israel. No Israeli signings."
In a series of messages, some of which were later deleted, the club's ambassador for the Her Game Too group also accused Israel of "war crimes" and "genocide" and cited these as reasons that Norwich should not sign an Israeli, adding: "While Abada hasn't explicitly made any statement in favour of his country, he also hasn't said anything against it which does count far more for being in support than not."
The remarks come at a time of mounting alarm over levels of antisemitism in the UK and have been condemned by many fellow City fans.
One wrote: "Ridiculous. Individuals are not responsible for the actions of their governments."
Another added: "Let's call this out for what it is: antisemitism."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the comments expressed a "drip drip of hatred" and called for Norwich City to remove the ambassador from its supporters panel.
A spokesman for the charity said: "We expect Norwich to remove this individual from its inclusivity panel immediately.
"It is precisely this sort of drip-drip hatred in our cultural institutions that the prime minister was referring to in his speech this week, calling for action across society. Football is no exception.
"The proposal to boycott citizens of the Jewish state is not only plainly immoral, but were it put into practice, it may also be illegal.
"Coming from someone involved in inclusivity makes it all the more outrageous – and, not being the only such instance, reflects a wider problem in that sector."
In his speech earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer called for action against rising levels of antisemitism following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green last week, describing it as "a crisis for all of us" and a "test of our values".
A spokesman for the club confirmed it was aware of the remarks but declined to comment further.
Hours later, the club said the panel member - who has been contacted for comment - had resigned from the supporter group.
Following criticism of the remarks, the ambassador, who has been contacted for comment, retweeted another message describing the antisemitism crisis as an "entirely constructed moral panic, invented by the Zionist lobby and their servile allies in Downing Street and the rapid dogs of the press".
THE PANEL
Norwich City's supporters panel is made up of 11 members and is used by the club to get fan feedback on non-football-related issues.
Six members are elected while the rest are representatives of different groups.
Jess Pye was the club's ambassador for Her Game Too, a group set up to tackle sexism in football.
The supporter, who is a transwoman, also campaigns in support of transgender fans and has previously been named as a matchday "community hero" by the Canaries.
Abada currently plays for US side Charlotte FC, where the head coach is former Norwich boss Dean Smith.
He is said to be attracting interest from the Canaries along with Championship rivals Birmingham City.
The 24-year-old left Celtic in 2024 amid tensions with many of the club's fans over the war in Gaza.
He is said to have suffered abuse from pro-Palestinian supporters among the club's fanbase.
Share