Leeds United is calling on UK authorities to reclassify offensive chants about notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile as public order offences, aiming to stamp out songs that have become a disturbing soundtrack at their matches since Savile's death in 2011.

A Disturbing Soundtrack

The chants, which often target Savile’s hometown connections to Leeds, regularly echo through stadiums during Leeds United games. At a recent FA Cup fifth-round tie at Elland Road, Norwich City fans initiated the taunts, reminding their hosts that Savile was born, lived, and died in the area. Leeds fans typically fire back with graphic, offensive songs about sexual assault. It’s a pattern that has become unsettlingly common, even though Savile had no official ties to the football club.

Jimmy Savile, once a celebrated figure in Britain, was a prominent television and radio personality whose charitable work and celebrity status allowed him to interact with royalty and powerful politicians. After his death in 2011 at age 84, a cascade of revelations exposed him as a prolific and predatory sex offender. A 2013 report by London’s Metropolitan Police and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children detailed at least 214 sex crimes, including 34 rapes, committed by Savile between 1955 and 2009. The report identified 450 alleged victims. His abuse extended to 28 hospitals across the United Kingdom, notably Leeds General Infirmary, where victims ranged from five to 75 years old, and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital.

While rumours about Savile circulated during his lifetime, the posthumous exposure triggered a widespread reckoning within the UK’s police, health system, and media sectors. The scandal also brought down other famous abusers. Everything with Savile's name on it got renamed—the Scarborough viewpoint, the Leeds conference centre, all of it. His former homes have been demolished or gutted, and even his grave’s headstone was removed. Now you only hear Savile's name in TV documentaries about his crimes—and at Leeds United matches. Reporter Dan Davies, who interviewed Savile multiple times, likened the chants to followers of an American sports team singing about Jeffrey Epstein whenever they visit New York just because he was from there.

The Push for Reclassification

Leeds wants the CPS and football authorities to treat Savile chants as 'tragedy chants'—which would make them prosecutable. Currently, the CPS defines tragedy chanting as "tragedy-related abuse," referring to fatal accidents or stadium disasters involving rival clubs' players, fans, or officials.

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Examples listed on the CPS website include the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters, the Bradford City fire, the Munich Air Crash, and the death of former Cardiff player Emiliano Sala in an air accident.

Since 2023, tragedy chants can get you prosecuted and banned from matches. But Savile chants don't fit because they're not about football disasters. The FA contacted the UK Football Policing Unit, which works with the CPS on this stuff. At first, the UKFPU said Savile chants weren't criminal. But the UKFPU later clarified its position to The Athletic, stating it "had not specifically said that all chants regarding Jimmy Savile or similar wouldn't meet the threshold for a criminal offence," and that it treats "all cases independently." The CPS agreed, saying they judge each chant on its own.

Now Leeds wants Savile chants officially classified as hate crimes. A club spokesperson told The Athletic that Leeds United "would be fully supportive of Jimmy Savile chants being classed as tragedy chanting and a hate crime." The club emphasized that its supporters "are subjected to these sickening taunts at every match by opposition fans, which shouldn't be happening in today’s game and are a disgrace to the victims of Jimmy Savile’s abuse." The club also stressed its disapproval of any retaliatory chants from its own fan base.

Impact on Victims and Public Discourse

The chants keep happening because fans can't agree on whether they're a problem. While many, like Graham Smyth, chief football writer at the Yorkshire Evening Post, describe the chants as "absolutely depressing," others dismiss them as mere "banter" or suggest "no one was bothered." This casual attitude ignores the profound impact such references can have, particularly on the victims of Savile’s abuse and other sex offenders. The club's spokesperson underscored this point, stating the chants are a "disgrace to the victims."

For survivors of sexual violence, hearing Savile’s name invoked in a celebratory or taunting manner can be deeply distressing and re-traumatizing. Katie Russell, co-founder of Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL), has publicly supported Leeds United’s demands, reinforcing the sentiment that these chants cause significant harm. Leeds' push is part of a bigger effort to make football safer and more respectful for everyone, including abuse survivors.

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Leeds thinks media coverage could help kill off these chants if the authorities officially reclassify them.

This article was created with AI assistance.