Jesse Marsch urges Leeds fans to be ‘more respectful’ after complaints about Willy Gnonto’s vocals

Jesse Marsch has urged Leeds fans to be “more respectful” and change their controversial chant for striker Willy Gnonto.

sports mail revealed last week that complaints have been filed about the song for “perpetuating a racial stereotype” as it contains a reference to the size of the Italian’s penis.

It is understood Leeds are currently consulting with fan groups over the chant and would like supporters to change the last line from ‘his c*** sf ***ing massive’ to ‘he plays for United’.

Jesse Marsch has urged Leeds fans to change up their chant about striker Willy Gnonto (above).

Ahead of Friday night’s game against Aston Villa, Whites boss Marsch said: “We always want to be respectful. Maintaining a high level of respect is so important in our sport.

“I think our fans are great. They show passion, they want the team to be successful, they can be hard on the team and hard on me at times about what we do and we understand that.

“I love how much they love Willy. I’ll walk around my house sometimes and whistle the tune in my head. But is there a way to change it to be just as passionate but more respectful? I would say so.”

The song has been defended by some fans of the club and Clarke Carlisle, the former Leeds defender and ex-PFA leader, has sympathy.

Leeds are consulting with fan groups about the song, with lyrics ‘His c***’sf***ing Massive’.

“We have to understand that text talking about the size of a man’s penis is the societal norm here in the UK, that it’s actually a compliment,” he said sports mail.

“But this is something we need to raise awareness about and against. We’re trying to fight against these lazy stereotypes about race. Whether it’s intended as a compliment or not, it feeds a standard stereotype that continues the narrative.’

Gnonto, 19, will play at Villa Park but fellow young striker Crysencio Summerville will be out for a month after suffering an ankle injury sustained by Cardiff defender Tom Sang in a nasty tackle last weekend.

Marsch is angered that the Dutchman and Gnonto – statistically one of the most fouled players in the Premier League – weren’t given better protection by referees.

The 19-year-old Italian starlet scored his first goal for the club against West Ham last week

“Opponents tried to bully them,” said Marsch, who welcomes striker Patrick Bamford back to his squad to face Villa.

“Honestly, I don’t think the referees protected these two players well enough and left them vulnerable to injuries and tough tackles.

“I would like referees to protect attacking players more. It’s about managing it in-game to ensure the players who get the most fans have the best chance of getting on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Leeds are said to have agreed a record-breaking club deal worth up to £35.5million to sign French striker Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim.