Monkey chanting or monkey chants are chants or calls aimed at ridiculing or denigrating black sportspeople. The chants, in the minds of the perpetrators, are intended to imitate “monkey” or “ape” noises. They may be accompanied by “monkey gestures”, in imitation of the scratching of the armpits commonly seen amongst ape species. ^[1] The chants are expressive of the ethnic slurs “macaca” and “monkey” against people of African heritage.

Monkey chants may also be accompanied by throwing so-called “monkey food” (peanuts, bananas, or banana skins) at black players or onto the sports field.^[2][3]

A number of incidents of this kind have been noted by media as manifestations of racism in association football.