Football fan labelled 'racist oaf' and banned for Nazi salute towards Spurs fans

A Swansea fan aimed a Nazi salute at Spurs supporters in April 2017
A Swansea fan aimed a Nazi salute at Spurs supporters in April 2017

A judge has labelled a Swansea City fan who directed a Nazi salute towards Tottenham Hotspur supporters as a ‘racist oaf’.

Leighton Johnson was caught making the gesture by a Spurs director, who had been filming the Tottenham fans’ reactions to two late goals at the Liberty Stadium in April 2017.

Johnson, 43, pleaded not guilty to causing aggravated alarm or distress, but was found guilty and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid community work, as well as being banned from Swansea home games for three years.

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Spurs have had a long association with the Jewish community and Jon Reuben, the director who filmed the footage, is Jewish, yet Johnson claimed he was signalling to a family member about going for a cigarette.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said that the fan’s claim was ‘laughable’ and that there was no more offensive gesture towards a religious group

Thomas said: “Your behaviour was that of a racist oaf and you made a clown of yourself giving evidence during your trial.

“You claim you were waving to invite someone to go for a cigarette and that you didn’t know about the club’s connection to Jewish fans. This to me is laughable.”