It did not take long for Manor Solomon to have an impact on his West Ham United debut against Burnley last weekend.Solomon, the Israel international who joined from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £5million earlier this month, scored in a 2-2 draw on Sunday, West Ham’s opening Championship game of the season.
But that was overshadowed when West Ham fans in the away enclosure sang, “Manor Solomon’s on my mind and he hates Palestine,” a controversial chant which references the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Some supporters also paraded the Israel flag. In October 2023, Premier League clubs were advised to prohibit Israel and Palestinian flags inside stadiums. And then in August 2025, clubs were reminded that material which could be considered “politically motivated”, which could include symbolism of countries in conflict, should not be permitted in stadiums.Ahead of this Saturday’s home game against Charlton Athletic, West Ham published a statement discouraging supporters from singing the “offensive and divisive” chant, which contains an “anti-Palestine message”.Here The Athletic answers the key questions about the chant, why it is controversial and what Solomon has said previously about it.Is this chant new?The chant initially surfaced during Solomon’s loan spell at Leeds United in the 2024-25 season. Supporters sang it during a 2-0 Boxing Day victory over Stoke City in December 2024. Leeds published a statement after the match condemning the chant.“Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and supporters could be breaking the law,” it read. “The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.“Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour and tragedy chanting.”But supporters continued to sing the chant about the 27-year-old winger, forcing Leeds to release another statement and threatening fans with stadium bans if caught singing it.Manor Solomon celebrates scoring on his West Ham debut in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)Why is the chant controversial?In short, because it refers to the Israel-Gaza conflict.The present conflict began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel. According to figures reported by The New York Times on August 19, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since. That figure has been reported by the territory’s health ministry, whose data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and includes thousands of children.
