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Arsenal leads summit on antisemitism in soccer

The club hosted 100 UK soccer officials for a landmark summit to improve protections for Jewish players, staff and supporters across the sport.

General view outside the stadium prior to the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in London, on Dec. 6, 2025. Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images.
General view outside the stadium prior to the Barclays Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in London, on Dec. 6, 2025. Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images.

Arsenal hosted more than 100 English soccer officials last week in a landmark effort to combat antisemitism in the sport, Jewish News reported on Dec. 5.

The summit, held at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Dec. 4, brought together representatives from clubs, leagues, county football associations and fan groups to develop protections for Jewish players, staff and supporters.

The timing was symbolic: the event marked 90 years since England faced Germany in a 1935 match during which the visiting team performed the Nazi salute.

The gathering was part of Maccabi GB’s national Tackling Antisemitism in Sport program, which has trained more than 4,000 soccer professionals.

Attendees committed to establishing stronger incident-reporting systems, integrating antisemitism awareness into diversity and inclusion programs, and creating an industry-wide toolkit for addressing discrimination.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism praised the initiative but emphasized the need for concrete follow-through.

“Football must now turn promises into action,” the organization said. “Antisemitism has no place in football or anywhere.”

Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) is the fastest-growing news agency covering Israel and the Jewish world. We provide news briefs features opinions and analysis to 100 print newspapers and digital publications on a daily basis.
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