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Men's Football Kicking it Out? Assessing the fight against homophobia in English football

AS REPORTED in Tuesday’s Star, the French FA has launched an anti-homophobia initiative to coincide with today’s International Day against Homophobia. 

Team captains, coaches and referees will wear a special rainbow armband at second-division matches tonight and their top-flight counterparts will also take part during matches tomorrow. 

A short movie will be aired in stadiums and on social networks, with the slogan “Homo or Hetero, we all share the same shirt” and leaflets will soon be distributed to educate both players and supporters about what constitutes homophobic abuse. 

Most excitingly of all, however, starting next season, in co-operation with the International League against Racism and anti-semitism (Licra) and a group fighting violence and discrimination against LGBT people, the French league will distribute forms allowing spectators to report the sexist, homophobic or racist incident they witness, something which up until now the French League has found hard to prove. 

Anyone found guilty could receive a €22,500 (£19,440) fine and six months in prison. 

In light of these extremely welcome moves on the other side of the channel, this seems an opportune moment to assess the English Football Association’s progress in the fight to make football over here more inclusive for LGBT people. 

The good news first of all.

The FA has long since accepted both the “moral obligation” it has to provide a “safe environment” for all those involved in the game, as well as the “positive leadership role” it needs to take to promote greater inclusion for all. 

It has led initiatives such as its 2006 10-Point Action Plan which, years ahead of its French counterpart, saw the FA produce a “Kick Homophobia Out of Football” short film and include an “Equality in your Tutoring” element to football coach training courses.

This plan was succeeded by 2012’s similar Opening Doors and Joining In campaign, with both initiatives being undertaken in conjunction with key LGBT community stakeholders including the equality campaign group Kick It Out, The Gay Football Supporters Network and gay rights charity Stonewall. 

This group’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which saw some players, and even commentators such as Gary Lineker on Match Of The Day, wear rainbow-coloured shoelaces, was endorsed by the FA with the organisation hosting a match between the UK’s most successful LGBT club, Stonewall FC, and Wilberforce Wanderers AFC at Wembley Stadium in November 2018. 

Follow-ups have included rainbow armbands and corner flags. The FA is also involved in lobbying the government and international football authorities such as Fifa to take steps to make the sport more inclusive.

Small steps for some, but increased visibility leads to greater awareness and more open discussion of this issue, a giant leap for football considering where the game was even in the early 1990s. 

But where are the French-style fines for homophobic abuse committed on the terraces? 

The 2006 Action Plan highlights that fans committing such abuse face “ejection from the stadium” and possible “criminal prosecution;” the report provides a telephone number for fans to call if they have abuse to report. 

But how many fans are aware of this number and how many are prepared to actually use it? According to the results of a survey of 1,000 adult fans conducted by Stonewall last year, the answer to both questions is not many. 

The survey suggested that more than half of British people think it is important that anti-LGBT language is challenged at sporting events, but that only a quarter are actually willing to do it. 

The reasons behind this contradiction are complex, football is after all a tribal game and fans are perhaps reluctant to challenge those on their own side. 

But there is clearly an appetite to do more, and if fans here like those in France were given forms during the game it should encourage them to report abuse as a matter of form. 

What about fining clubs themselves? Tuesday’s article reported that second-division club RC Lens were recently fined €50,000 (£43,200) by the French league after fans sang discriminatory chants targeting local rival Valenciennes. 

Doing this more often would send a strong message in the English game, but how effective would it really be? Piara Powar, the chief of football’s anti-discriminatory body Fare, believes it to be a weak response to a serious problem. 

Following Fifa’s fining of six central and South American international teams in October 2017 Powar said it was “fine after fine, but harsher punishments are needed.” 

Why? Because many bigger teams can easily afford a five-figure fine, and these are the teams under more scrutiny, exactly the type which should be setting an example. 

Following racist abuse which was directed at some of England’s players during their match in Montenegro in March, defender Danny Rose argued that the £17,253 fine was not “harsh” enough. 

The FA felt the additional punishment of having to play a match behind closed doors showed that racism was not welcome in football, but Rose argued: “When countries get fined what I probably spend on a night out in London, what do you expect?”

Sadly, as is often the case in our world, money talks, and €20,000 to most top-flight clubs and FAs is a barely audible whisper.

Speaking of money, it’s time to consider the role agents play in perpetuating the biggest weakness in the fight against homophobia in football, the lack of both “out” players and straight allies willing to stand up for them. 

Tuesday’s article highlighted the work of Yoann Lemaire, who has made a documentary on homosexuality in football. He feels players should get more involved in the debate and take strong stands against discrimination. 

He said “99 per cent” of the players he approached for his movie refused to speak. 

Optimists might point out that Antoine Griezmann, French World Cup winning striker, did contribute keenly to the project.

Many of his compatriots were part of the Arsenal team that featured in a TV advert to support Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign and even back in 2006 the FA was keen to promote the fact that “well-respected role models” such as former players Paul Elliott and Mark Bright were getting involved with its initiatives.

But many of these ex-players are not household names, and not every current player opted to show solidarity by wearing Rainbow Laces. 

It’s simply not good enough and is missing a truly high-profile patron like Prince William, who announced as FA President on Wednesday the launch of the organisation’s new Man Up mental health initiative. 

But why are players still reluctant to get involved in England, especially in light of the Stonewall survey results mentioned above which show a majority of football fans here keen for change? Lemaire points the finger at agents.

“…When the player is OK to speak, their agents or clubs stop them from doing so to soften their communication. I know some very well-known PSG players who prefer not to speak, by fear of being stigmatised.”

The 2016 independent short-film Wonderkid, promoted and broadcast by Sky Sports, dramatises the issue perfectly. 

The piece focuses on a young professional gay footballer on the brink of superstardom, keen to be open about who he is despite facing some homophobia from certain teammates. 

But the biggest dissenting voice in the room? His agent, who eventually abandons him. 

Against mounting evidence to the contrary, some agents seem to consider going anywhere near the “gay issue” bad for business. 

It’s a powerful vested interest that needs to be challenged, but “out and proud” players are vitally needed to finally banish the last lingering stereotypes and lead the way in bringing the game firmly into the 21st century.

We’ve come a long way. But I feel that much more could be being done. 

The FA must look at adopting the French model of genuinely encouraging fans to report homophobic abuse immediately. 

It should also be fining English clubs as a matter of course, but the fines should be much more substantial and accompanied with even bigger punishments such as playing a series of games behind closed doors or even expulsion from certain tournaments to force clubs to act. 

It’s clear as well that some agents need “Equality in your Tutoring” training as much as coaches and all players, whether gay or straight, should be approached by the FA and actively encouraged to speak out on this issue, with a genuinely supportive plan in place. 

Only then will football truly become the “beautiful game.”

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