Spanish newspaper Marca issue groveling apology after claiming Tottenham are ‘hated’ for their Jewish origins
TOTTENHAM have been left "astonished" after leading Spanish newspaper Marca said they were "hated" because of their Jewish origins.
The claims were made in a preview ahead of the two teams meeting in the Champions League this week, and printed in Monday's edition.
The newspaper described Spurs as "hated but with good footballing style", then shockingly linked this with their Jewish history.
Marca states: "Their Jewish origin has made them into a club disliked by rival fans."
It then adds: "But in their 135 years of existence they have always had style and great players."
A statement from Spurs sent in to SunSport described how the club have been left "astonished" by the preview and described it as "wholly distasteful".
It read: "We are astonished that a publication such as Marca, which presents itself as an alleged source of professional journalism, has seen fit to publish such an article which is blatantly wrong and wholly distasteful."
Tottenham had had a large Jewish for many years, but were actually formed by members of Hotspur Cricket Club.
They in turn asked the Bible class teacher at All Hallows Church to become their president in 1883.
Police have the power to arrest any fan, Spurs or opposition, for using the term "yid", despite it historically being a chant used by fans of the north London club to describe themselves.
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SunSport previously reported how Tottenham's rivals Chelsea promised to clamp down on an anti-Semitic song that was chanted in tribute to striker Alvaro Morata.
The words were: "Morata, whoa, Morata, whoa. He came from Real Madrid, he hates the f**cking Y**s.”
Chelsea wasted no time in condemning the sick song and pleaded with their support to ditch it.
The club's Head of Communications Steve Atkins appealed to fans to heed their pleas.
He said: “I don’t think Antonio was aware of the song. The club and the players appreciate the fans’ passionate support away from home.
“But the language in that song is not acceptable at all.
"We’ve spoken to Alvaro after the game and he does not want to be connected with that song in any way and both the club and the player request the supporters stop singing that song with immediate effect.”
Marca issues a grovelling apology this afternoon over the report.
They said: "l article published today in MARCA on the history of Tottenham, next rival Real Madrid in the Champions League, intended to provide a general brush stroke over the Spurs club long tradition in British football and throughout the continent "always praised for his good football taste ".The fame of the team, its "permanent commitment throughout its 135 years of life by quality players", its records, its ambition to overcome.
"All those ideas have been expressed in an article that, however, has generated controversial in England for an erroneous interpretation of the term "hated" , that also is used in the text.
"That 'hatred' that Tottenham suffers is very focused on the radical and racist groups that are hiding in the social mass, especially Chelsea and West Ham.
"Obviously, these groups do not represent much less the English hobby or society. I regret the confusion that has been created in this respect.
"The intention was not to damage the image of Tottenham, a club we respect, value and admire - without going further, one of its players is today the protagonist of our front page - and we do not want to serve as a speaker to these racist minorities, football, and who use any pretext to expand their hate messages, which we reject head-on."
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