We have morons too

In the wake of the interminable nonsense resulting from John Terry's use of the expression "fucking black cunt" at Loftus Road last year, many QPR supporters have had fun with terrace chants that riff on the notion of Terry being a racist. Then there's been the business of Chelsea supporters (and, amazingly, some West Brom supporters at the Hawthorns on Saturday!) directing chants of "you know what you are" towards Anton Ferdinand, the Rangers player subjected to Terry's ugly language. Anyone who has sung that song and claimed that it is not with racist intent is being entirely disingenuous. So along the way, some among the QPR crowd have taken to the notion of Chelsea as a 'racist club' with 'racist' fans. That is far too simplistic, of course. But that said, it doesn't seem unfair to suppose that the Pensioners have a higher than average number of bigoted berks among their fan base.

For me, some weight was added to that idea last season when - wouldn't you just know it? - it just happened to be a Chelsea supporter that I heard serenading a London pub with the old Spurs on their way to Auschwitz song. When I objected to this, the charming fellow threatened to glass me for my impertinence. Explaining that my objection sprang from being related to people who lost loved ones in the Holocaust had no immediate effect in terms of turning him into a decent human being.

What a dismal afternoon that was. You go down to Stamford Bridge to see the Rangers getting a massive tonking. You get soaked to the skin along the way. You duck into a Euston Road pub to see if Tottenham can help out QPR by beating Blackburn, and who do you encounter? A jubilant Chelsea supporter with a line in gas chambers humour and a very short fuse. Still, the day didn't end too badly. Spurs did indeed do us the favour we needed and, amazingly, the angry Chelsea fan had some sort of revelation during the second half of the match. Someone - his girlfriend/wife, I think - had had a word with him. "I'm sorry, mate," he offered. "I hadn't really thought about what I was singing about."

So when someone directs songs about Hitler and gas chambers towards Spurs supporters, it does not necessarily follow that he or she is actually a Jew-hating, pro-Nazi anti-semite. The singer could just be a thoughtless, insensitive moron who thinks anything is fair game and nothing is beyond the pale.

So let's not assume that when a QPR supporter sings songs like this it definitely means we have a racist in our midst. He could be a racist. Or just a moron. Either way, it's remarkably unpleasant. 

But no QPR fan ever sings stuff like that any more, you cry! Not so. While songs of this sort are thankfully uncommon at Loftus Road, have a look at this charming fellow and keep him in mind if you're ever tempted to feel a bit smug about the idea of an entirely blameless Rangers crowd taking the Chelsea contingent to task for racist songs: