The antisemitic phrase #JewGoal originated in FIFA gaming culture but has migrated into commentary on real football matches, normalizing hate speech under the guise of banter, a new study has found.
The research was conducted by academics from Loughborough University, Sheffield Hallam University, Dublin City University, and Leeds Beckett University.
The term “Jew goal” refers to a particular type of football goal in the FIFA video game where a player squares the ball for an easy tap-in instead of shooting. The term implies a level of opportunism or “unfairness” without breaking any rules, resulting in the accusation that the scoring player has achieved a “cheap” or “easy” goal. In doing so, the term draws from the racist, antisemitic stereotype of the lecherous “Jew” living off the hard work and effort of others.
For their investigation, researchers analyzed 1,364 public posts on X/Twitter that used the term “Jew goal” or the hashtag #JewGoal between 2010 and 2020.
It found tweets such as “Croatia scored the best Jew goal ever #ARGCRO #JewGoal #WorldCup2018” and “Ronaldo scores a Jew goal... not impressed, but I understand why they took the Jew option! #Fifa #JewGoal”, which it says demonstrate how antisemitic tropes are weaponized to describe moments in football perceived as opportunistic, underhanded, or lacking sportsmanship.
Harmless banter, a vehicle for normalising antisemitism
The study found that while some posts simply mocked gameplay, many used explicitly antisemitic references, including Holocaust imagery, Jewish cultural symbols, and stereotypes. The majority of posts (1,330 out of 1,364) fell into categories of antisemitism or casual hate.
“Our study shows that what might appear as harmless banter is, in fact, a vehicle for normalizing antisemitism,” said one of the authors, Dr. Itoitz Rodrigo-Jusue, from the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture.
“The #JewGoal hashtag spread not because of its meaning, but because of the enjoyment users derived from repeating it. This repetition created a shared identity that allowed discriminatory language to thrive unnoticed within everyday football and gaming culture.”
The researchers explained the effect of this repetition through a psychoanalytic theory called jouissance, which refers to a form of excessive enjoyment attached to language, where the act of using the term becomes pleasurable regardless of its meaning. This helps explain why users continued to employ the hashtag even when its content became more extreme.
Lead author Dr. Jack Black, from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The findings reveal how seamlessly antisemitism circulates through digital culture – especially when disguised as entertainment, jokes or rivalry.
“It’s important to try and gain a deeper understanding of how hate operates within online communities, particularly where gaming, sport, and social media intersect.”