The chants 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 and racism in cricket.