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."

Football v Homophobia 2011 is upon us!

Last year, the initiative was observed in eight countries!! Football matches and tournaments sprang up all over the globe with fans and communities everywhere uniting under the banner of “Football v Homophobia” for the first ever;

International day opposing homophobia in football.

This year it’s going to get bigger, better, louder and prouder than before.

This post outlines some of the ways that you, your club, team or organisation can celebrate "Football v Homophobia".

Don’t forget to get in touch with The Justin Campaign to request promotional materials, such as posters, flyers, banners and stickers to promote your event effectively.

Our brand new spanking "Football v Homophobia" website is due to be launched in the next few weeks, contact us before January 19^th 2011 to get your event listed and then send us your stories and images afterwards for everyone to see!

See below, keep us informed and have a great day!

The Justin Campaign team.

Football v Homophobia 2011.

Football v Homophobia is as much about having fun as it is about demonstration and protest. We want the world to know that the global LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) community is as much a part of the beautiful game as anyone else (and if they don't believe us.... we can give them a good game to prove it!)

Organise a match or even a tournament in your local area! Contact your local newspapers/radio stations/football clubs/football authorities and get them involved!

Get everyone involved!!

Circulate news of "Football v Homophobia" to other football teams/community groups/colleges/universities/local government/politicians in the area.

Blog us, Tweet us, Facebook us, Use our pre-designed email signature to include in your email communications (downloadable from our website)

Tell your friends, your relatives, your colleagues, your boss and anyone that will listen!

Our Media & Communications Team are on call to give you advice & guidance on what to say and who to say it to!

Two left feet?

If you aren't the playing type but are a dedicated fan then assert your right to enjoy a football match without being intimidated by torrents of homophobic abuse from others and vocalise your support for your teams players that are subjected to such abuse on a weekly basis.

If you're not into Football, so what? Homophobia is an issue for everyone and therefore, tackling homophobia in football will have a positive impact on wider society!

Download our pre-written letter and send it to your local politician demanding more pressure be put on football authorities to end homophobia in football.

Organise a raffle, a quiz, a sponsored bike ride, a sponsored swim, a sponsored walk even! All donations will be put directly back into the development of "Football v Homophobia."

Make it interesting! Make it Diverse!

Football v Homophobia is about uniting all communities, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, disability and background in opposing homophobia in the game, so contact other community football teams, such as teams from different ethnic backgrounds, teams that may have disabilities or other teams from leagues in your area and involve them in your plans.

Tell us about you! Tell us about what your doing!

Send in your plans, your stories, your details and your pictures by January 19^th 2011 and we will showcase everyone’s hard work on the "Football v Homophobia" website.

Find out more about Football v Homophobia 2010.

For general information contact us at info@thejustincampaign.com

To contact our media team for advice and guidance on promoting your observance contact:

tim@thejustincampaign.com

For Corporate sponsor details or official endorsement enquiries contact:

darren@thejustincampaign.com

Finally some honesty

Waking up this morning to a phone filled with unanswered texts and emails it was clear something had happened.

The reason: a frank and brutally honest interview by Chelsea's French winger Florent Malouda.

For those of you who have not seen the comments, they have been reproduced in full below.

When asked about homophobia in football he said:

"Before people couldn't even speak about that like they were rejecting it and saying it is not existing.

"People who do it are wrong, hiding behind religion to explain their behaviour against gays, but you have to accept people as they are and once you understand that, you understand our differences are our strength."

To reiterate, this is THE Florent Malouda, one of the best players in the world.

The significance of a top player admitting the denigration of people because of their sexuality cannot be understated.

Credit must also be given to the press team at Chelsea who did not think "oh no we cannot possibly publish this" but actually allowed a player to speak his mind.

Could it be that football club's attitudes are becoming more aligned to the rest of society?

In the interview, which focused on Kick It Out's One Game, One Community week of action, the eloquent Malouda was also very frank about fighting racism on the terraces.

He stated: "You have to prove to others they are wrong and don't accept it. You have to face these people and even if it is a battle, if you have to struggle, you have to prove that there is only one race and that they are wrong to doubt you.

"You have to speak about it. You cannot act like it does not exist."

These are statements about equality which have not been heard before from such a high profile player.

Quite why Malouda felt the need to issue such strong statements is not known.

The recent protesting in France shows that our Gallic cousins do things a little differently when it comes to disagreements with the authorities.

Perhaps it was Malouda, who was brought up in South America, feels he wants to give something back to the beautiful game to which he owes so much.

Or maybe the winger has witnessed homophobic abuse first hand.

It might just be that he sees now - he's 30, in the best form of his life and captain of his adopted country - as the right time to speak his mind.

Whatever the reason perhaps the tide, at last, is turning.