West Ham United supporters are facing a severe backlash after singing a chant referencing the Israel-Gaza war during Manor Solomon's debut at Burnley.
The Hammers completed the signing of the Israeli international winger from Tottenham Hotspur for a £5 million fee last week. Solomon scored during Sunday's match, but West Ham were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw.
During the game at Turf Moor, a section of visiting fans in the away end sang a song about their new signing containing the line that he "hates Palestine". The lyric relates to the Israel-Gaza conflict that began on October 7, 2023.
Clips of the chant circulating on social media since Sunday have drawn strong condemnation, including from within West Ham's own fanbase.
One user on social media platform X criticized the traveling support, writing: "Disgusting levels of ignorance from any fan to look at what’s happening & think “yeah let’s make a chant about that” I’m normally proud of our away support, this is a disgrace!"
Another user described the song as "Shameful," while a third commenter added: "The anti-Palestine chant for Manor Solomon by West Ham fans is gross and should be punished."
Online Fan Disapproval
Supporters on online forum Reddit also expressed anger at the chant, describing it as embarrassing for the club.
One fan posted: "That Manor Solomon chant is so out of touch. It’s too far, the same group that were saying to “keep politics out of football"."
"Appreciate he is a good player and he’s a part of the team now but some of our fans just do not get it," the post continued. "My overall point is just don’t joke about it, its embarrassing and makes the rest of the fanbase look so bad."
A second Reddit user agreed with the criticism, replying: "Completely agree, I thought it was disgusting seeing fans chant that. Not a thing to even joke about."
Player Background and Career
Solomon has won 49 caps for Israel since making his senior international debut in 2018. He previously served in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) as part of mandatory national service in his country.
The winger has previously shared posts on his social media accounts that appear to demonstrate his views on the conflict. Prior to joining West Ham and Tottenham, Solomon played for Fulham in London, Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, and Italian club Fiorentina.
History of Chants at Leeds United
The incident at Burnley is not the first time Solomon has been targeted with similar chanting during his career in English football. While playing for Leeds United during the 2024-25 campaign, a section of supporters sang the same anti-Palestine lyrics.
Leeds United issued a statement condemning the chant at the time, and repeated their stance several months later after it continued to be heard at matches.
"Leeds United again condemn the football chant containing an anti-Palestine lyric aimed at Manor Solomon, having already done so through comment to local and national media outlets in December," the Yorkshire club said in a statement.
"Hate crime and discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable at Leeds United and the club has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds," the statement added.
The club confirmed receiving numerous complaints from fans, adding that it "had hoped the initial strategy of condemning it through the media and working with supporter groups, would prevent this from happening in the future, but it has sadly become more prominent in recent matches, including at Elland Road."
Leeds stated that they would increase the use of CCTV and deploy more stewards to identify supporters involved, warning that anyone found guilty risked a ban from Elland Road.
The issue was also discussed during a Leeds supporter advisory board meeting in January 2025. Minutes from that summit noted that "the police do not class this chant as a hate crime."
