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Football: FA and Premier League Slammed by Fans for Failure to Tackle Anti-Gay Abuse

Homophobia rife on terraces – three quarters of fans sure there are top gay players, poll finds
 

LONDON, August 12, 2009  –  Days after it emerged that football fans in Belgrade had painted the city with homophobic graffiti, a YouGov survey of over 2,000 football fans across Britain has found that anti-gay abuse in the sport has been witnessed by seven in ten fans.

The Football Association (FA) in London faces calls for immediate action following the authoritative research, commissioned by Stonewall and published at lunchtime.

Within hours of the publication of the report, the FA responded.  “There is no place in the game for homophobic or racist abuse and The FA calls for the strongest possible sanctions to be taken against anyone who is found guilty,” the FA said in a statement (see below for full statement).

Findings of the reveals that fans now expect visible action from the FA.

Leagues behind – Football’s failure to tackle anti-gay abuse features a YouGov survey of over 2,000 football fans from across Britain and interviews with top football insiders and lesbian and gay players. It finds that:

■ Three in five fans believe that anti-gay abuse from fans dissuades gay players from coming out

■ Almost two thirds of fans believe football would be a better sport if anti-gay abuse was eradicated

■ Two thirds of fans would feel comfortable if a player on their team ‘came out’

■ Over half of fans think the FA, Premier League and Football League are not doing enough to tackle anti-gay abuse

“Sadly, this survey demonstrates that football is institutionally homophobic,’ says Ben Summerskill, Stonewall’s Chief Executive.

“Too little action has been taken about an issue which deters not just gay players and fans from enjoying our national game, but also thousands of other fans too.

“Football has a firm track record tackling problems such as hooliganism and racism.  But anti-gay abuse still almost always goes unchallenged.  When England is looking to host and win the 2018 World Cup, football cannot risk this loss of potential talent and supporters.”

Sam Dick, Stonewall Policy Officer, sais that the pioneering research clearly shows that the FA, football clubs and their partners have a mandate from fans to challenge anti-gay abuse.

“It’s by no means impossible to challenge this problem,” he said.  “We await some clear leadership from the FA on the issue.”

The report’s recommendations include ensuring that sanctions used against fans who perpetuate anti-gay abuse and violence are consistent with those for racist abuse.  

Kick It Out, the FA’s anti-abuse campaign, needs to be properly resourced to challenge anti-gay abuse, and this role should be more widely promoted, the report says.

A high-profile, easy-access reporting mechanism needs to be promoted and the FA should annually collate and publish statistics on the extent of the problem at different teams.  Football clubs who fail to tackle homophobia should face the threat of points being docked.

In October 2008, Hampshire Police charged fans with offences of both racist and homophobic abuse after chants directed at Portsmouth player Sol Campbell included the words: ‘We don’t care if you’re hanging from a tree, ‘cos you’re a Judas c**t with HIV’.  Eighty five per cent of fans polled supported the police action.

Observations from interviews featured in the research:

■ ‘Nothing is done to stop homophobic chants. It must be the only profession where workers feel unable to come out and be accepted for playing football, not what they are.’ – Ipswich Town supporter, 46

■ ‘I think there’s a lack of leadership in the FA.  A gross lack of leadership.’ – Football industry executive

■ ‘No one will ever come out – I’ve a mate in League One and he won’t come out.  He’s worried about his transfer fee.’ – M. Semi-professional player

■ Football seems to now be comfortable with anti-gay chants and abuse and not racism.  One seems to have been replaced by the other.’ - Chelsea supporter, 28

Addressing the report this afternoon, an FA spokesman commented: “The FA recognises that football has a duty to tackle all discrimination within the game and aims to confront aggressive issues such as homophobia.

“There was a change in football ground regulations at the start of the 2007/08 season which saw homophobic abuse deemed punishable – The FA supported this breakthrough further by teaming up with the Gay Football Supporters Network to provide liaison officers who can advise and educate Premier and Football League clubs and their stewards on homophobia in the game.

“The FA is in constant dialogue with both the Football Supporters Federation and the Met Police and worked closely with Hampshire Constabulary following abusive chanting at the Portsmouth v Spurs fixture last year.

“Future plans will see The FA working with the likes of Peter Tatchell from Outrage, the PFA and Kick It Out on a short film that aims to tackle homophobia in football,” the spokesperson concluded.

The programme for last year’s FA Cup Final carried a page on homophobia – the Final was on International Day Against Homophobia.

■On Monday, UK Gay News reported on the ‘gay-hate’ graffiti that has appeared over the last two weeks in Belgrade, and the claims by activists that the Serbia FA and the two clubs – Red Star Belgrade and Partizan – have so far refused to condemn the homophobic words painted on the walls of buildings and ‘signed’ by fan groups of the two clubs.  But following considerable international publicity of the graffiti, the two Belgrade today condemned their fans.

The activists had complained to the world governing body, FIFA.

SEE ALSO

Leagues behind – Football’s failure to tackle anti-gay abuse.  The full report in Adobe Acrobat form.

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