Sheep shagger
Sheep shagger, also spelt sheepshagger or sheep-shagger, is a racist slur used to refer to Welsh people and New Zealanders.[1][2] The insult is the labeling of the subject as someone who engages in sexual intercourse with sheep.[2]
History
The use of the term "sheep shagger" to refer to a Welsh person has arisen from the prevalence of sheep and sheep farming in Wales.[2] It is often viewed as offensive in Wales.[citation needed] The insult is also used by Australians to refer to New Zealanders for the same reason[3][4] as it is in South Africa to refer to Australians.[5] In response to complaints over the use of phrase, in a television advertisement for Toyota, the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority determined the phrase was not viewed as offensive to the majority of New Zealanders.[6][7]
Football
At association football matches in England, supporters of Welsh teams as well as Welsh players are often called sheep shaggers in football chants from opposing fans.[8][9][10] It is also used in Scotland to refer to supporters of Aberdeen.[11] In 2001, Cardiff City signed English player Spencer Prior and jokingly included a contract clause that he would be obliged "to have a physical liaison with a sheep", in response to their fans being called sheep shaggers.[10]
The name "Sheep Shaggers" has been used for at least two football fanzines - those for Bedford Town and for football in Western England.[12]
Lawfulness
In Prestatyn, Wales the phrase was the subject of a 2013 court case, after Anthony Taaffe of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, a guest at a holiday park in Gronant, called an off-duty policeman and security staff "a bunch of sheep shaggers." Taaffe claimed, in his defence, that the phrase was "a term for people living in the countryside." He also admitted a second similar offence, in which he called a police officer, at the custody unit to which he had been taken, a "Welsh sheep shagger." Taaffe was fined £150 after he admitted racially aggravated disorderly behaviour.[1][13]
See also
References
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- ↑ http://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/05/i-love-everything-about-supporting-qpr-except-watching-them-play/
- ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-229475045.html
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