Olympic celebration - but a games for all?

With record crowds, some great sporting action and memories to inspire future generations, the 30th Olympiad was a triumphant success. But, beneath the cheers, celebratory music and fireworks there was a worrying statistic. Tim Ridgway, of The Justin Campaign, asks where were the openly gay sporting role models?

For two weeks, the world's gaze was on London as the city hosted the Olympic games. From world records to unprecedented crowds, it was a fortnight to remember as the finest athletes from across five continents gathered in a small corner of the east end to battle it out for the coveted crown as the world's best.

TEARS OF JOY: Sir Chris Hoy

There were tears of joy - Sir Chris Hoy (right) and Jessica Ennis for two - and tears of disappointment - Victoria Pendleton and the Brazilian football team among them - as competitors gave their all.

But, while the International Olympic Committee made much of the fact this year's games saw some Middle Eastern countries send women athletes for the first time, there was a very low number of athletes who were openly gay.

According to Outsports, there were 23 athletes at London 2012 who were openly gay.

The research adds that this in an increase on previous games, in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

Of the 23 there are some inspiring stories and a hell of a lot of success.

More than half won medals of some colour, with US footballer Megan Rapinoe and GB equestrian star Carl Hester among those heading home with Gold medals.

It led to comedian Sue Perkins jokingly tweet: "So there you have it, today's syllogistic argument has taken us to the conclusion that if you're gay you WILL win a gold".

INSPIRING: Megan Rapinoe

One of the more famous gay sportsmen is Australian diver Matt Mitcham, who failed to progress beyond the semi-final stage of the 10m diving competition despite being defending champion.

Then there is the South African archer Karen Hultzer who hopes coming out at the London Olympics will help people struggling with their sexuality and add to the fight against homophobia in sport.

But considering there are nearly 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries competing, this is a shockingly low percentage which is not even worth calculating. It is certainly far lower than the three to eight per cent figure which population experts believe to be LGBT in the world.


Why is it that when the world comes together to celebrate there is dismal number of people who are openly LGBT?

For some representatives of certain countries, notably those in African and Middle Eastern countries where homosexuality is illegal or met with the death penalty, there are clear reasons for perhaps maintaining silence on the issue.

But countries in western Europe, such as USA, the Netherlands and Great Britain, surely there are more athletes who are LGBT but have chosen not to publicly admit it?


The oft used arguments in football is that there is too much pressure on any individual that does come out; that fans are not ready for it; that the media will make the person's life difficult. Perhaps, with the intense four-year training programme that people that go though, the last thing they want is the added publicity of known as, to use an example, "the gay rower" or "that lesbian boxer"? 

Whatever the reasons, sporting authorities across the world must ask themselves if they really are delivering a games for all. Nutritionists, physiotherapists, sports psychologists - all are seen as integral to a winning team. But is there enough of a support network for those who want to come out? 

The Justin Campaign has always held the view that it is up to individuals to decide if and when they want to come out. No one should ever be backed into a corner and forced into making a highly personal decision under the media microscope. But it should also not be something people are frightened of.

Looking at the examples above, there are plenty across a wide range of sports who have come out. Anyone that wants to take the step should not be scared. Look at the above role models. There are people out there who are out and proud. What's more they are quietly doing their bit to smash prejudice and picking up a few medals along the way.

SUCCESS: The closing ceremony of London 2012

In football in particularly there have been major strides in recent years towards making the beautiful game an equal one. Perhaps, with soccer becoming an established sport at the Olympics, it could lead the way in promoting LGBT inclusion? Perhaps it will be led by individual countries? Perhaps it will be led by the International Olympic Committee?

Former NBA basketballer John Amaechi, who worked for the BBC during London 2012, summed it up best in a recent interview. He said: “I do see encouraging signs. There is a generation of young people for whom achievement is important and sexuality is secondary.

“But there is another generation who are dinosaurs. Who want things as they used to be without those pesky women, black people and gays getting in the way. And quite a few of those people work in sports administration.

“In the end, perhaps we will get to the point where it doesn’t matter so much, it doesn’t define you. But we need help to get there. No minority in history has gained any measure of acceptance without the help of the majority.”

Looking ahead to four years time in Rio, would it not be great to see the numbers of openly LGBT athletes rise again? Perhaps this is the legacy that organisers of London were talking about: a true games for all.

Manchester United striker fined £15,000 for homophobic tweet

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has been fined £15,000 by the Football Association for making homophobic comments on Twitter.

Newcastle United's Nile Ranger and Walsall's Manny Smith were fined £6,000 and £1,200 respectively by the FA on March 1 for the same charge but Macheda had requested a personal hearing, according to media reports.

The 20-year-old, who is on loan at QPR, is the latest in a series of professional footballers to be punished by the Football Association for remarks on the social media site.

We have already said our thoughts on this issue in previous blogs (see here). Such high-profile cases certainly help spread the message that homophobic behaviour from role models is not, and will not, be tolerated.

However how much this will hurt Macheda personally is questionable. The amount, which equates some people's annual salary, is about a week's wages in the world of a Premiership footballer.

We must hope that the message and the negative publicity around his behaviour will be enough of a deterrent to those that simply do not think twice before they tweet.

How to report homophobic abuse

A number of fans have been in contact with us in recent weeks to ask what to do if they experience homophobic abuse. We hope the following is useful.

If you are at a professional game then we advise that all incidents are reported immediately to the matchday stewards. They can then liaise with police officers on duty at the game who will then take action to identify those responsible and take action. This could be eviction of those responsible from the game or even an arrest, with subsequent charge.

If you do not report instances at the game then please do notify the club after the incident. While this there is very little chance of action being taken against the perpetrators it does mean that those in charge at the club are aware that such behaviour is going on.

If you are playing a game and experience homophobic abuse then we recommend that you challenge the individual on their actions. We appreciate that not everyone will feel comfortable doing this so it also worth contacting the clubs and the relevant league authorities after the game to inform them of the abuse.

The following website, report it, is also extremely valuable. This gives people the opportunity to report incidents, even those on social media websites, such as Twitter and Facebook. If you do not want to be named then this website allows you to remain anonymous.

We appreciate that some victims may also want support after the incidents. A comprehensive list of organisations and charities in the UK which offer advice and support is available here.

Homophobic abuse, whether on or off the football pitch, is a hate crime. It is only by reporting incidents that action can be taken and we can rid the beautiful game of its last taboo.

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.

Somewhere over the rainbow Margaret Court's comments will be band...

Well done Laura Robson.

Without wanting to sound too patronising the teenage tennis player, who is one of a number of talented young Brits looking to break into the top echelons the sport, proved that a little action can go a long way.

In support of equality in sport, the 17-year-old wore a multicoloured hairband during her Australian Open match against Jelena Jankovich.

It comes in the wake of comments from Australian tennis legend Margaret Court, an avid opponent of same-sex relationships and after whom the arena Robson played her match on was named.

Court, 69, reportedly said: "Politically correct education has masterfully escorted homosexuality out from behind closed doors, into the community openly and now is aggressively demanding marriage rights that are not theirs to take.

"The fact that the homosexual cry is, `We can't help it, as we were born this way,' as the cause behind their own personal choice is cause for concern."

The comments made last week sparked outrage and led to a mass campaign quite simply called 'Rainbow Flags over Margaret Court Arena'.

When Robson was asked about the band after her match, the teenager said: "It was just a rainbow-coloured hairband. I didn't see anything about a protest today."

The Brit added: "I wore it because I believe in equal rights for everyone. That's it. It wasn't a protest, it was just a hairband."

Now in the age of PR and 24/7 media it can be seen that Robson wanted to make a statement but not overplay her opposition to Court's out-dated and vile views.

But what it does do is show all supporters that a little bit of activism can go a long way.

For the Justin Campaign it is encouraging to see so many players - others have been more vocal than Robson - oppose the inhumane views that Court spouts not only to her congregation but also to the media.

We can only hope that pressure is kept up on the authorities to stop Court from attending this year's event but also reconsider naming the arena.

For those players that have to walk onto it during a grand slam it is supposed to be an honour, not a memory of outdated views and abhorred statements.

Perhaps if similar uproar came in football, players could wear messages of support under their shirts?

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.

Fifa's overture in women's game welcomed

Homophobia in football is not just limited to the men's game.

As the popularity of the women's game has grown across the globe, so has the need to confront and combat negative language to those part of the world's most popular sport.

For while football has long been accepted by those with an X chromosome, women were long looked down on for even making a passing remark about the game.

But times are changing as seen with the popularity and skill on display at this summer's World Cup in Germany.

Perhaps it is this which has encouraged Fifa to take steps against bigotry in the game.

According to reports, the governing body of world football has announced it will look into homophobia following anti-gay comments by the coach of Nigeria’s female team at the recent women’s World Cup.

As mentioned previously on this blog Eucharia Uche sparked controversy on the eve of the women's World Cup when she reportedly branded gays as “dirty” and “a problem”.

Fifa has now decided to investigate the comments and the wider issue of homophobia in the women’s game, according to gay group AllOut.org. Much of the credit for this work must go to this campaign group.

It organised a 45,000 signature petition, a sure sign of support on the issue, and a flash mob outside a stadium during the women’s World Cup in Germany which urged FIFA to act over Uche's comments.

Andre Banks, co-founder of AllOut.org said in a statement: “Today we are excited to see FIFA take a first, critical step. By launching an immediate probe into coach Uche’s homophobic statements, the international governing body of soccer is sending a clear and important message: homophobia has no place in football, on or off the field.”

The Justin Campaign wants to echo to sentiment echoed in this above statement. It seems finally Fifa has its head in the right place and realised that football can be a postive force for all. But first the authorities need to show those taking part in the beautiful game the sme commitment its supporters and players do.

With the support of the world's governing body and individual member nations the sport is certainly heading towards a game everyone can be proud of. If proven guilty, any action taken against Uche will certainly be a step in the right direction.

Regular reading list: September 4

At regular intervals we will list a number of articles that have interested us at the Justin Campaign. Read on and follow links for the articles in full.

England's 3-0 away win in Bulgaria in the Euro Championships qualifying game was marred with the home fans directing racist chants at a number of England players. Here Henry Winter, of the Daily Telegraph, argues that footballing authorities need to get tougher on the issue.

The issue of homophobia in football is slowly reaching football fans across the world. Read the words on the issue from self-confessed football geek Alastair Moncrieff, from Fife, Scotland, here.

In recent months, there has been positive language to originate from key players in the Bundesliga about homophobia in football. So it was somewhat surprising to read the German national team's captain Philipp Lahm state in his autobiography that homosexual professional footballers should not come out. Read more
here.

Time to clip the wings of the Super Falcons' coach

The women's world cup has sprang a number of surprises expected from tournament football.

Japan's rise to the final, England actually playing for penalties (only to, unsurprisingly lose), Germany failing in the first round of a knockout - all unexpected delights from tournament football.

But one unnecessary and despicable action has been the behaviour of Nigerian women's football manager Eucharia Uche.

Allegations of a "witch-hunt" of lesbian players in the country, who proudly play under the banner of the Super Falcons, have been ongoing for a number of months.

It is claimed Uche uses homophobic coaching measures, even describing homosexuality as “very dirty” and “spiritually, morally very wrong”.

Yet still Fifa sits on its hands.

This is why it was positive to see a demonstration against the actions taking place in Frankfurt this week.

Leading the protest was the international gay rights pressure group www.allout.org, who are demanding an investigation into the allegations.

More than 100 activists dressed as referees in front of SV Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena and holding up red cards reading "Homophobia No."

It was a simple action against an issue which has been overlooked for far too long.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell perhaps summed up the situation best.

He said: "The reported purge last year of lesbian players from the Nigerian women's football team by Nigerian soccer federation official James Peters is outrageous discrimination.

"The team's current coach has also boasted that she is attempting to remove lesbian influences from the team. These actions go against the spirit that sport should be open to everyone and that players should be judged solely on their football abilities."

He added: "Fifa's silence and inaction is collusion with homophobic prejudice and discrimination. It has failed to act against the anti-lesbian policies of the Nigerian football authorities.

"Sepp Blatter and Fifa must insist that Nigerian football officials halt their witch-hunt of lesbian players. Allowing this discrimination is unacceptable. The beautiful game is not beautiful when it tolerates prejudice."

It may be that Fifa has its eye on other matters at the minute - most notably the allegations of in-house corruption.

But, homophobia in African football is not a new thing - the rape and killing of Eudy Simelane is just one incident of many.

But how long will it be before those with the power actually use the power.

We are beyond the stage where inactivity is an option.

This is a message to all the footballing authorities - this is an issue and you should tackle it.

For more on this issue:
http://nigerianfutbol.blogspot.com/2011/07/eucharia-uche-disgrace-to-nigerian.htmlhttp://www.teamkickoffnigeria.com/forum/topics/eucharia-uche-a-disgrace-tohttp://www.womenssoccerunited.com/group/womensworldcupgermany2011/forum/topics/fifa-has-taken-tentative?xg_source=activity

Mixed messages from the Queen

Mixed messages in the Queen's birthday honours list today.

First of all congratulations to John Amaechi.

The former NBA player, who was raised in Greater Manchester, has been one of the most vocal critics of homophobia in sport.

He came out shortly after his retirement - one of the first professional sportsmen to do so - and, while it was welcomed by some, looked down on by others, his actions inspired thousands to stand tall.

The fact he has now been awarded an OBE is testament to his personality and the work he has done for disadvantaged youngsters on both sides of the Atlantic.

And he is a terrific guy too.

On hearing the news, Amaechi said: ""I was once an overweight bookworm who hid in the corner of my school library and wished I was invisible.

"My mother told me that I could do better and I hope to use this platform to convince other young people just how true this can be for them too."

But then there is a little more worrying news about bus entrepreneur Brian Souter receiving a knighthood.

No one is doubting the business credentials of the man who started off as a bus conductor and now heads up Stagecoach, one of the largest transport firms in the country.

However, this same man also was the leader of the Keep the Clause campaign, fighting the lifting of Section 28 which banned teachers and pupils from discussing homosexuality in schools.

To date, he has shown no regret for so actively fighting a ruling which not only was prejudiced but outright bigoted.

If progress is to made in tackling homophobia then schools must be the first place where a positive message is made, not the last.

The Queen's honours list are there to honour a wide section of society. But what sort of message is being put across if a man advocating such a ruling.

It certainly puts a dent in the image of the monarchy after the jubilant scenes a little more than a month ago at the Royal Wedding.

Thank goodness for every Brian Souter there is a John Amaechi.

Enough is Enough

A year ago, 15-year-old Dominic Crouch jumped from a six-storey building.

Six months after the tragic incident his family discovered their loved son had been subjected to homophobic bullying at school.

In a very frank interview to promote the Lesbian and Gay Foundation's Enough is Enough campaign, his father Roger Crouch talks about why youngsters are often on the end of homophobic bullying from their peers.

Mr Crouch said: "Bullies should think about the consequences as what may seem like a laugh can have serious consequences on a lot of people.

"I don't think those bullies imagined for one minute that Dominic would have gone missing from school and then gone to a six-storey building.

"Even if he were gay it should have been his choice [to come out] rather than somebody else do it on his behalf."

He added schools need to do more to create a positive culture, something both the LGF and the Justin Campaign are working to do.

Perhaps most shocking was Mr Crouch stating while there had been a huge number of positive comments in support of the family after the incident, there had also been a huge amount of homophobic statements on websites that had been incredibly upsetting.

It does make you question when, even when a family has lost a son in such tragic circumstances, why people still continue public displaying bigoted ways.

The abuse that Dom received from his peers is no different to thousands of footballers and fans across the globe.

Like Dom, they may not necessarily be gay but are still subjected to homophobic abuse dressed up in the form of "banter".

Former Spurs and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell is one player who comes to mind but there are many others, most of whom keep the hurt trapped up inside.

But there is always a breaking point.

For some this is raging and screaming in private; others it is public retaliation; regrettably and tragically a number decide to end their own lives.

Please take time out to watch the full interview here and remember the consequences of any actions you may take.

To find out more about the Lesbian and Gay Foundation visit here.

Persistence is key

12 months ago an effort from one of the largest sports in Australian to raise awareness about homophobia drastically failed.

Well known Aussie Rules player Jason Akermanis wrote an editorial for the Herald Sun advising gay players to "Stay in the Closet".

He added: "Locker room nudity and homoerotic activities are normal inside footy clubs", but advised young gay players who are "thinking of telling the world [about their sexual orientation to] forget it."

The result of these words was to instantly put pay to the small steps taken by the
Australian Football League and its player association.

Indeed, former Aussie Rugby League star Ian Roberts - still the only male footballer from Australia's dominant sports to come out - told one magazine: "There are kids out there in the suburbs who are killing themselves because of comments like that."

It was the equivalent of Craig Bellamy or Scott Parker from penning a high-profile column in the Daily Mirror or Sunday People.

Any encouragement that ARL fans had to ditch its macho stereotypes was instantly screwed up and thrown in the bin.

It would have been very easy for the sport to shelve any plans to promote equality for a few years.

Yet, thanks to a small group of players, the issue of tackling homophobia is still alive.

In contrast with last year's high profile efforts, this year sees three players going into speak to clients of the national youth mental health foundation about the issue.

On May 17, the trio will attend an event for the day and judge a design competition with the theme "In my eyes, homophobia is out of bounds".

Their efforts have the support of 17-year-old Hannah Williams, who made national headlines in Oz last year after Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School forbade her to take her girlfriend to the end of school party.

She said: "I've heard that a lot of guys believe that it's a lot easier for girls to come out because there are a lot of celebrity girls who are lesbian.

"Guys tend to stay in the closet for a lot longer and normally don't choose to come out unless something happens."

The Justin Campaign, which runs its own educational programme, praises these players and indeed the player's association for doing such work.

High profile media stunts are important to get word across and raise awareness about topics.

But, as has been shown, it can so easily go wrong, and ultimately has no impact on the very people suffering from accepting who they really are.

Yet these three players simply talking to young people about the issue will not only raise awareness but will have a deep impact on people clearly troubled. It could in fact save lives.

Substance over style, actions speak louder than words - let's ditch the cliches and just tackle an issue which has no place in any part of society.

Justin Fashanu Day

Today marks 13 years since Justin Fashanu was found dead hanging in a garage in south London.

The life of the UK's first and only openly gay footballer was turbulent to say the least.

An amazing talent on the pitch, his career was marred by a torrent of abuse and "banter" about him publicly accepting who he was.

To mark occasion and to remember him, The Justin Campaign has organised a series of events.

A tournament yesterday including the invitational Justin Fashanu Allstars reminded people that football is a game for all to enjoy. It included Aslie Pitter MBE, of Stonewall FC, who is also a patron of The Justin Campaign.

Today, we have also unveiled a new page on the website www.thejustincampaign.com which will be a tribute to Justin.

As well as information about his career, it has tributes from top football writers such as Henry Winter, LMA's Frank Clark, Peter Tatchell and his niece Amal Fashanu.

As part of ongoing work around educating people about the subject, campaign volunteers will also be going to a speak to school children about the work we do in ridding homophobia from the beautiful game.

Justin's death was a tragic end to one of the most talented footballers of a generation.

While he and others helped raise awareness about the subject, homophobia in football is still a massive taboo.

Yes progress has been made but more needs to be done before other players feel comfortable in publicly accepting who they are.

This is why we will continue to remember Justin Fashanu.

Did you know Justin? How did his news of his death affect you? Please leave tributes and comments below.

GUEST BLOG - Musa Okwonga and "Love, Against Homophobia".

My name's Musa Okwonga, and I'm a poet, musician and football writer (and once a keen player; I played for Stonewall FC for a couple of years, as a holding midfielder who ran forward too often.) This music video, “Love, Against Homophobia”, began life as a poem that I wrote in November 2009. I had just returned from Amsterdam, which has just about the friendliest gay scene on the planet, when I read of the rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, a South African footballer and lesbian activist. I was sickened both by the story and the fact that life could be so arbitrary – that you could be subjected to such horror merely by accident of birth. And so, listening to an appropriately angry piece of music (in this case, “Beaten Metal” by Antibalas), I put the finishing touches to the poem, with Simelane’s plight firmly in mind. A year later I read of the murder of David Kato, the gay activist who hails from my parents’ homeland of Uganda, and it was around then that we set the words to music, knowing that this was a theme that deserved wider attention. (“We” were The King’s Will, a two-man outfit where I wrote the words and Giles Hayter – a multitalented schoolfriend of mine, who is a painter, producer, composer and mathematician – made the electronica that would accompany my verse.) I recorded my vocal acapella, and Giles built a beat underneath it that was subtle, stirring and choral, before surging into something upbeat and triumphal. We advertised online for an animator who could bring life to the work, and that was when we were lucky enough to find Jae Hwang, a Korean animator working in London, who created the stunning 3-D video that you can now see on YouTube. Jae’s work on this was remarkable; he completed the video in a relatively short space of time, and contacted us halfway through the process to send us some stills of the final piece, which were so beautiful that we immediately selected one of them as the cover of our debut album. We also handcuffed ourselves to him and told him never to leave us (well, that’s not true, but he’s currently making the video for the lead single of our next album).

So there you have it: “Love, Against Homophobia”. I personally felt there were too few songs of an affirming nature when it came to gay rights, and so we set about making the best one that we could. We hope that you like it.

You can watch Musa's incredible video here.

Kobe shown homophobic language not fine.

Sports stars are often held up as paragons, as inspirations to us all.

Young people copy their actions, those in adulthood rue missed opportunities oft wondering why they are not in the similar position.

All in all this makes it worrying why Kobe Bryant, one of the most recognisable sports stars in North America, if not the world, was seen apparently uttering the word "faggot" to a referee.

Such an example could very quickly be seen as being acceptable by tens of thousands of people.

English football fan's minds will immediately think of the incident involving Wayne Rooney where he uttered a number of expletives into a TV camera after scoring a goal. The result - a two game suspension.

In the Bryant case the NBA acted swiftly and fined him $100,000. For that they must be praised.

The head of NBA David Stern made the sport's position very clear in a statement.

He said: "Kobe Bryant's comment during last night's game was offensive and inexcusable. While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated.

"Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

Bryant himself said: "My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period.

"The words expressed do not reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone."

These words and apology do not excuse Bryant from what was a clearly offensive comment, not just to the referee but to gay people across the globe.

The fine is welcomed but it needs to be put in perspective.

Bryant earns more than $30 million. A fine of $100,000 is hardly going to hurt him personally.

But what it will do is grab the headlines and make kids and adults know that such language is not acceptable, never has been and never will be.

From recent memory there have been no notable examples of football authorities taking similar stances.

Whether it is through lack of evidence - as such language does get uttered on the pitch and in the terraces - reluctance, or inability to track down the offenders, who knows.

Whatever the reason we hope the FA, Uefa and Fifa sit up and take note of the NBA's admirable lead.

Another step along the way

Regular readers of this blog will know the importance we place on small victories towards the ultimate aim of LGBT acceptance in football.

So it is with pleasure that the following news reached us: a charter signed by national sporting bodies against homophobia and transphobia.

Among those signatures was Alex Horne, the general secretary of the FA.

In a statement, he said: "The FA and its stakeholders have worked hard over the years in providing football for all and ensuring that football stadia are open to everyone and are both family and LGB and T friendly.

"We’ve seen real progress over the last 20 years when it comes to tackling racism and that’s something football should be proud of.

"We remain committed to our long-term goal of removing all forms of discrimination, such as homophobia, out of the game."

Coming shortly after the FA announced its backing to the Justin Campaign's Football v Homophobia initiative, it is clear that those in the halls of power are sitting up and taking notice of the game's last taboo.

Praise must also be directed towards the coalition Government and in particular equalities minister Lynne Featherstone.

But quite what impact the charter has is another question.

Darren Ollerton, director of the Justin Campaign, said: "The Justin Campaign applaud this move by the FA to make public their commitment to tackling homophobia and transphobia in the UK game.

Whilst it is important for the FA to publicly assert their values around equality within football, the future worth in signing this charter will be seen in real change on and off the pitch.

"The Justin Campaign is clear that there must be real tangible outcomes to this move, and look forward to working closely with the FA to ensure that all points on the charter are fulfilled."

Show your support by signing the charter here.

Equality in the stands 2

A few weeks ago we published this blog post. We subsequently received this reply from Tęczowa Trybuna and have, at their request printed it in full. All comments are welcome.

Dear Justin Campaign,

We read the entry on your blog and would like to explain ourselves. There is no doubt that the decision we made is hard, but we find it to be a proper measure to avoid harassment and aggression against homosexual supporters during European Championship, that would be hosted by Poland and Ukraine, in 2012.

As you know, conditions which homosexuals in Poland have to deal with aren’t easy, the best example could probably be the initiative of LGBT activists to introduce civil unions in Poland, the initiative that is being slowed down by the representatives of the government and as for the moment isn’t likely to be introduced to the parliament. Thus, as we decided, calling for raising the awareness about homophobia in football and launching campaigns so that we all could enjoy the game in safety, both gay and straight, would do no good, because – sincerely – hardly anybody among Polish officials cares.

Searching for solution of our problems, we thought of the stands that are on Camp Nou or the stadium of AC Milan, where the members of gay fanclubs can feel safe and focus on the game, rather than uneasily look around just in case there was someone who would prefer them beaten up (and that’s what happened to some of the members of Teczowa Trybuna 2012).

In Poland we met with disapprovement, not only from the side of other supporters, but even Polish gays and lesbians considered our idea nothing more but ghettoization. But none of them even thought that creating separate stands for disabled people (rather than enabling them to access all the
places) or VIP stand to divide the society, although it is division due to criteria of physical abilities or wealth. If we are all there just to watch the game, why shouldn’t we be there all together? If it truly doesn’t matter, who you are, and just which team do you support, why shouldn't we all be in one place?

What we care about is safety. We are threatened right now, and we want to watch the games of European Championship that would be co-hosted by our country in safety. We know what’s the situation of gay supporters and we know that Polish Football Association (PZPN) is doing nothing to improve it.
And we want homosexual people – both Polish and from abroad, that will come to watch the games in 2012 – to be able to watch the games in safety.

That’s what we believe Rainbow Stands could increase. We ask you for support us!

Best regards,
Tęczowa Trybuna 2012

Far from lost in translation

Homophobic abuse in sport can be in all forms.

The most familiar type people are subjected to is verbal shouting of all sorts of horrible, misguided and bigoted statements.

It is with great regret when the Justin Campaign learnt that this sort of language was on display in one of the biggest French league games this weekend.

A banner in the stands of the Stade Velodrome in Marseille read: "Band of faggots. Be men."

The huge poster was spotted by a member of the Paris Gay Football Association during the match between Olympique de Marseille and Avignon Arles.

A statement from the group said: "It is now more than three years we've alerted club Marseille, on the need to tackle the problem from recurring homophobia of some supporters."

They added that there had been a history of homophobia abuse from fans of the French team when, after one incident in 2008, the club's director of communications at that time, Nathalie Paoli, said: "Marseille is not sufficiently exemplary to rebel against such comments."

The story was originally reported in the French media here.

Of course these comments may be a little skewed to an internet translation package.

But there is no doubting that this banner was not lost in translation.

Many questions from the incident. How did the banner get into the ground in the first place? Why did club officials so nothing to take it down? What impact did it have on other fans?

What is clear is that this shows how far football must travel if homophobia is to be pushed out of the game.

But as long as there are groups such as the Paris Gay Football Association then people will see what is right and what is wrong.

Football against corrective rape

Keph Senett is a Canadian writer whose passions for travel and soccer have led her to play the beautiful game on four continents. She also works as a volunteer for The Justin Campaign. This article was originally published on popular football blog In Bed With Maradona.

Corrective” rape refers to the practice of men raping lesbians in an effort to punish them, and “cure” them of their homosexuality. The sexual assault is typically accompanied by prolonged violence and torture, and sometimes culminates in murder. This crime has become systemic in South Africa and black lesbians from poor backgrounds are usually the victims.

According to Change.org, 150 women are raped in South Africa every day, more than 10 lesbians are raped or gang raped every week in Cape Town alone, and for every 25 men accused of rape in South Africa, 24 walk free.

Avaaz.org puts it another way: “South Africa is the rape capital of the world. A South African girl born today is more likely to be raped than she is to learn to read.”

In 2008, South African national team football player Eudy Simelane was raped, tortured and murdered. She died just several hundred yards from her family home. Simelane was a high profile victim, and her case brought international media attention to the crime. The press wasn’t enough. In 2009, Simelane’s teammate Girlie ‘S’Gelane’ Nkosi died after a similar attack.

It’s no coincidence that both women were footballers. In a country that still defines football as a male sport, it’s difficult to say what might have been seen as the more punishable gender transgression: their lesbianism or their choice to play. The world of professional football was notably – shamefully – quiet on the issue.

“Imagine the impact that an openly anti-homophobic and queer positive WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) might have, globally,” suggests From a Left Wing writer Jennifer Doyle.

“Actually, why leave this to women?” she asks, referring to the WPS. “Imagine posters [of top players] declaring ‘Simelane was my sister.’”

“Part of the reason Girls & Football SA was founded was to help girls and young women feel good about themselves just as they are,” says Jos Dirkx, who created Girls & Football in partnership with Sonia Bianchi. “This was partly influenced through an event that happened in April of 2009 when one of the players of the South African team was killed because she was a lesbian.”

She’s referring, of course, to Eudy Simelane. A quick survey of sports development publications yields countless examples of programs that use sport to empower marginalized communities.

But Dirkx’s program is a standout. Girls & Football SA has taken a proven model (use sports to build self-confidence and create opportunity) and made it intensely personal. Although “corrective” rape affects women from outside the football community, there is a definite link between the perceived gender expression of female footballers and the potential for violence.

Jonathan Clayton spoke plainly when discussing Simelane’s death in The Sunday Times, “Her sexuality and supposedly butch looks were a death sentence in a country in which the sport is still considered a man’s game by many.”

This is the brutal truth about “corrective” rape: it’s a crime perpetrated against women and girls who fail to fall in line with gender norms. That’s why Simelane and Nkosi died. That’s why lesbians are targets. And that’s why football is a particularly effective way to educate and empower South Africa’s girls.

Through strategic partnerships with the Stellenbosch Maties Football Team, Girls Action Foundation (Canada), and Sport in Society (U.S.), girls in Girls & Football SA programs get to participate in workshops run by women in football, where they learn confidence, self-esteem and body ownership.

This last is key. “Life for girls in South Africa is not easy,” Dirkx writes in her article The Untold Story of Women’s Football in South Africa. “It is estimated that one girl is raped every seventeen seconds, [and] that girls have a significantly lower chance of finishing their secondary education than boys do because of teenage pregnancy and their role as care takers in society, and that over 31% of women in South Africa are unemployed.”

Yet while sports development programs like Girls & Football SA are effective in empowering girls, “the positive effect that sport has for these girls and women is also widely ignored,” Dirkx explains. “With the coming of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there is no better time than now to invest in women’s development through sport.”

Football has proven repeatedly to be an equaliser – an agent of empowerment at the grass roots level – and it is vital that football’s transformative power is not diluted to the point of neutrality when tested on a larger scale.

Girls & Football SA appears to be making progress with their programs. Indeed, according to South African National Women’s Football Team manager Fran Hilton-Smith, “Girls & Football SA will continue [to make], and has already made a massive difference in the lives of young girls in this country”.

That difference is in helping to create a culture where girls are active participants, team members, agents of their own bodies. Where girls get and give support to each other, and where their gender may be expressed – unpunished – on a broader spectrum.

Take Action

Sign Luleki Sizwe’s petition on Change.org. It calls on South Africa’s Justice Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe to declare “corrective” rape a hate crime (http://www.change.org/petitions/view/south_africa_declare_corrective_rape_a_hate-crime). At the time of this writing, the petition has collected over 140,000 signatures and has the modest goal of 150,000 names.

Sign the Avaaz.org petition that is urging action to end “corrective” rape (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_corrective_rape/?cl=918900616&v=8241)., and which has collected over 75,000 signatures towards a goal of 250,000.

Support Girls & Football SA by donating using their online module (http://www.girlsandfootballsa.com/), and by viewing and publicizing their new documentary, “Can I Kick It?”