Homophobia doesn't only show up in stadiums in large-scale chants, though - it's also heard in casual conversation between fans. In two years' time, it went from 4,000 to zero." When Brighton played Arsenal in 2015, says Raval, "it didn't happen. Finally, LGBT fans and allies have to feel empowered to speak up when they hear homophobic language, either directly or through a reporting system. Education in the form of program notes, or signs and banners in the stadium, also helps. Stewards have to be trained to deal with homophobic abuse the same way they now deal with racist abuse- namely, by removing the offending fans from the stadium. Nipping abuse in the bud takes cooperation from multiple sides. LGBT fans and allies have to feel empowered to speak up when they hear homophobic language.
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We met with police and stewards, and talked about how to nip it in the bud." "They emailed that to everyone with the ticket. In 2015, when the teams were again set to face off for the Cup, the Gay Gooners took preemptive action.Īt the urging of gay supporters, "the club put something in the program for the previous home match saying, 'this sort of stuff is not acceptable,'" says Raval. "Once 4,000 people start chanting 'I can see you holding hands,' " says Raval, "it's pretty hard to stop." That's what happened when Brighton faced Arsenal in the FA Cup in 2013. "So that's the poisonous thing fans have latched onto." For years, Brighton supporters have tolerated opposing fans chanting homophobic taunts like "does your boyfriend know you're here?"
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"Brighton has a big gay community," explains Di Cunningham, the organizer of the Proud Canaries. An oft-cited example of how they've done that is the case of Brighton and Hove Albion FC. "If you're a young gay person," says Raval, "those one-liners can hurt you."Īccordingly, much of the activist work taken on by groups like the Gay Gooners and the Proud Canaries has focused on pushing club staff to take such abuse seriously. Although fans who take part in it often insist such slurs aren't intended as anti-gay - much like defenders of the infamous " puto" chant - the casual use of homophobic language sends the clear message that this sport isn't for them. Of course, to queer fans trying to enjoy a game, homophobic language is far from harmless. To queer fans trying to enjoy a game, homophobic language is far from harmless. "A player falls over and someone says, 'get up, you poof.'" Words that, elsewhere, might draw sideways looks, are often dismissed as harmless banter.
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"Football is lagging behind the rest of society, and indeed the rest of sport," says Raval. While the focus of individual groups varies, with some more centered on activism and others simply on providing a space for members to meet and socialize with other queer fans, all have the same overall goal: normalizing the presence of LGBT fans in a sport where they've long felt excluded.Įven as the UK has made huge strides toward LGBT equality in recent decades, casual homophobia has remained part of soccer culture. Other groups include Norwich City FC's Proud Canaries (who were the first group officially recognized by their club), Manchester City's Canal Street Blues, and Tottenham Hotspur's Proud Lilywhites. These days, though, LGBT fan clubs in English football are increasingly widespread. The Gay Gooners, founded in 2012, were England's first gay soccer fan group, and they now number more than 600, making them the largest such group anywhere in the world.
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"We thought, there's a different question, which is, 'when are the fans going to come out?' How can you expect one man, right in the middle of this pitch, surrounded by 60,000 people, to put his hand up and say, 'Hey, I'm the gay one,' when not a single other person has done so?"
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"People are always saying, 'when is a player going to come out?' " says Dave Raval, a former professional soccer referee who's now chairman of Arsenal FC's Gay Gooners. That's something the growing number of LGBT supporters' groups across the English leagues are hoping to change. Since Justin Fashanu came out in 1990, no other man playing the world's most popular sport professionally in the country of its birth has come out as queer. Among the roughly 1000 professional male footballers in the top four levels of the English league system, not a single one is openly gay.