Three arrested for homophobic abuse at Brighton - Millwall game

After years it seems like police and footballing authorities are finally getting the message.

Just hours after officials from Brighton and Hove Albion and Millwall signed the sporting charter, which promotes equality in sport, three Millwall fans were arrested for homophobic chanting.

The Justin Campaign has had contact from a number of fans who were subject to abuse at the game and want to make it clear that this is not welcome in football.

For years Brighton and Hove Albion supporters have been subject to homophobic abuse, largely because of the city's image as the UK's gay capital.

Homophobic chanting is often mistook for banter; let's make this clear, it is not.

The Justin Campaign wants to offer its thanks to Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove Albion for taking such as positive stance on this issue.

It is only with such strong and public signs of action that supporters of all teams will get the message that football is for everyone, regardless of a person's sexuality.

Equality takes longer than 90 minutes? Yes, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

For those of you across the world reading, apologies - it is quite a UK-focused post.

In the past week there has been a lot of media publicity on the issue of homophobia in the game, from a member of Brighton and Hove Albion's supporters club asking for authorities to take homophobic chanting more serious to homophobic messages being displayed on a Crawley Town player's Twitter account.

Following these articles, Rod Liddle penned these thoughts in yesterday's Sunday Times titled "Equality takes longer than 90 minutes".

For those of you without a subscription or a hard copy of the paper, I'll provide a few extracts.

Talking about eliminating racism in the game, Liddle writes: "We're almost there but not quite. And the force for change has not been pressure groups or the Kick It Out campaign, but a gradualism occasioned by more black players, more black faces on TV and so on.

"You cannot conceive of yourself as being the master race when a black forward has just made your white defence look static and imbecilic, or when your local MP is black.

"And so it will be, I suspect, with homosexuality. For a while now the FA has attempted to outlaw homophobia at grounds but I suspect that this will make the chants even more homophobic."

Mr Liddle concludes: "You force this stuff on people and in the end it just causes even more resentment."

In a way I can see the point that Liddle is trying to make is that changes in society and culture result in more change than action by those in charge of the game.

A lifelong Millwall fan, he has seen the ugly side of the game up close, particularly through the 70s and 80s when it was a no-go place for many.

But in this issue we feel he has largely skewed his effort wide of the post.

For homophobia and transphobia IS now unacceptable in wider areas of society - even other sports - yet football continues to lag behind.

Not just on the field, but off it too, it remains a very male dominated enclave where any issues around sexuality are frankly just not talked about, never mind embraced.

The reason? Perhaps because football is the most popular game in the world, its authorities could afford to take the view they do not have to take equality seriously.

Note that does not mean they do put the issue to one side, just that there is little impetus for doing so from the financial point of view.

For instance, are sponsors going to turn away from the game if a high-ranking member of the footballing authorities makes a homophobic statement?

How much money did Fifa lose when Sepp Blatter made his infamous remarks about members of the LGBT community attending games in Qatar?

The actions of a number of activists and groups, such as the Justin Campaign, have played a major role inensuring this issue is now being looked at more seriously.

Bosses are now realising that football can be a force for good and, instead of waiting for a rap on the knuckles from the Government or being shamed into action by the media, football authorities can and are taking a more proactive stance.

The Premier League and the Football Association can use its global profile to spread a message of equality and show it can use this to change people's views, not reinforce them.

As one twitter user, known as Gixibyte, wrote when I posted the comments earlier: "The alternative is to do nothing. Which breeds more homophobia. Ignore the isolated minority who fume at anti-homophobia."

A new season, same old story

A new season brings hope for supporters of every team up and down the country.

Brighton and Hove Albion are probably the one side in the country which have the most to smile about.

Promoted to the Championship last year as champions, they have finally moved into a new home 14 years after the controversial sale of their former home the Goldstone Ground.

But, one thing that does not change is the homophobic abuse that its fans get at seemingly every game.

Using Brighton's reputation as the gay capital of the UK for "inspiration", Leicester City fans spent much of the match reminding Seagulls fans of the large LGBT community that reside in their city.

"Town full of faggots" and "Does your boyfriend know your here?" were just two of the chants from a minority of Foxes fans aimed towards the travelling fans.

After posting news about the comments on Twitter there was plenty of reaction from supporters of both teams.

One Albion fan said: "It happens at every away game."

Another said: "It happens pretty much every game. Only way to react is with sarcasm. Away clubs do nothing about it coming from their fans."

This is not to say the Albion fans were completely innocent. In response, a number of its supporters resorted to chants.

One Leicester fan said: "We get racist abuse galore,that doesn't justify it but there are idiots everywhere.How do you win that battle?"


Another said: "There's no place for hurtful chants but sometimes the tamer songs are just a bit of banter which no one wants out of footy."
A third wrote: "very embarrassing for us real #lcfc fans. As embarrassing as the weekly racist abuse we receive. All clubs have idiots."




But as always, the reaction is not always positive.

One devoted Foxes fan replied: "shut up u dick the Brton fans were doing limp wrist salutes back the Leicester fans. Nothing in it at all."

Another said: "It's football, not ballet!!! If you aint happy don't go!!!"



It is perhaps these comments which sum up the battle facing campaigners. Any football fan knows that chants and humour is an integral part of the fan experience. At the prices that supporters have to pay these days it would be wrong to completely do away with this side of the game.

But there must be some action when clearly abusive behaviour is so evident.

Why do stewards not step in if this is such a regular occurrence?

A Norwich City - Ipswich Town game last year saw stewards step in and evict a fan who was leading a particularly nasty chant about the campaign's figurehead Justin Fashanu.

Any football fan who hears chants such as those listed above should not be afraid to report them to the football club.

If the club's a re made aware by those that pay the bills then they will have no option but to step in and take action.

Homophobia alive and kicking at FA Cup tie

GUEST BLOG - Lindsay is a football fan and blogger based in Manchester. Here she talks about her views on homophobic chants during an FA Cup reply game featured on national television.

Blue Square South side Woking earned a reply against Brighton and Hove Albion on November 16, the game was televised live in ESPN. Four goals in a two-all draw, then three penalties sufficed for Brighton to go through.

Nothing out of order there you might think, but those like myself who pick up on the ever increasing amount of discrimination in the game these days and who watched the coverage or who attended will have a lasting memory of the abuse given out throughout the night from the home fans.

The abuse has been picked up and highlighted on a number of football websites and blogs by fans of both teams, but this is an all too common a tale of what goes on at many of today's matches.

A number of flares and smoke bombs were thrown onto the pitch and "run from the students, you only run from the students." was chanted at the police and security presence, this may have been the witty start of things but as is all too common when BHA play the opposition fans just can't help themselves to shout homophobic abuse and chants.

The cards may well be governed by conference rules and regulations, rather than the FA regs there are in the top four professional leagues (the ground quite possibly coming under nothing more than a public area) but surely its time their own administration took action against those who saw fit to disrupt the evenings entertainment as it wasn't a one off.

Homophobic chanting could be heard quite clearly on the TV coverage, as well as by those at the game.

"We can see you holding hands" and "Does you're boyfriend know you're here" Followed by "Do you take it up the ####" and "Does your father know you're QUEER" were order of the day.

Tame you may think to some of the chanting of abuse around someones sexuality but this comes only days after two well known names in the professional game from Croatia have stated "there will be no homosexual players on the team while i am in charge" - comments which should see UEFA (under pressure from gay rights groups and the likes of EGLSF and FARE) finally make a stand against this type of discrimination that adorns football globally.

Administrators of the game in the FA, PL, FL, PFA, LMA along with the REFS ASS, and government, police and fans need to clampdown on this behaviour in every way they can so that anyone regardless of sexual orientation feels safe and comfortable to play, coach and watch football in which ever environment they chose.

FOOTBALL IS NOT EXCLUSIVE; FOOTBALL IS FOR ALL.

Read more of Lindsay's thoughts at http://justaballgame.blogspot.com