West Ham Urges Supporters to Stop Offensive Chant Ahead of Home Game

West Ham have issued a sharp warning to their own supporters, urging them to drop a chant “containing an anti-Palestine message” ahead of the club’s first home game of the Championship season.

The east London side, relegated from the Premier League last term, said in a lengthy statement on Thursday that it was “aware of an offensive and divisive chant” heard from a section of the away end during Sunday’s opening fixture at Burnley.

The timing is no coincidence. One of West Ham’s headline summer arrivals is Israel winger Manor Solomon, signed from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-year deal. His move has already drawn strong reactions across parts of the fanbase and beyond, and the club has moved quickly to draw a line over what it deems unacceptable.

“We encourage our supporters to sing loud and proud about their football club and the players wearing the claret and blue shirt — but never in a way that creates division or causes offence among fellow fans,” West Ham said, stressing that the message was a reminder of “the responsibility we all hold to represent the club in the right way”.

The club’s stance comes as it prepares to reopen the London Stadium on Saturday for a Championship clash with Charlton Athletic, the first home outing of a season that already feels politically charged in the stands as well as fiercely competitive on the pitch.