A supporter of Britain's Newcastle soccer club was banned for three years from attending Premier League games after making a Nazi salute during a match against the Tottenham Spurs.
Shay Asher, 24, pleaded guilty to a charge of racially aggravated harassment that occurred during the game in October 2021, Sky Sports reported.
Asher was fined $240 after admitting to the Nazi gesture in April.
But he appealed to the court over a “Football Banning Order” which the prosecution had asked for that bans him from attending matches for three years.
Prosecutor Brian Payne said that the Spurs were known for a "predominantly or very strongly Jewish fan base," and that heavily Orthodox Stamford Hill in North London was within the area that the team represented.
"This defendant took it upon himself to produce a Nazi salute," Payne said. "He knew or must have known that there was a likelihood of there being a strong Jewish presence among the away supporters."
"It was a pretty deliberate and cynical action,” he added.
He said that the reason for the ban was to prevent similar actions in the future.
Asher’s lawyer John Wesencraft argued that his client’s act did not lead to violence and said: "Newcastle United supporters were in particularly good cheer that day, even though they lost."
He also said that his client was not likely to repeat the antisemitic gesture and described it as a “moment of madness.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)