English Players Snub Anti-Bigotry Campaign

England’s Independent newspaper has reported that the Football Association (FA) received no support from any players for an anti-homophobia video as part of a campaign against bigotry in football. No professional players in England volunteered to appear in the video forcing the FA to initially release a generic video without any big name advocates. That has now been pulled while the FA review the campaign in its entirety.

England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) were hopeful that some of the Premier League’s stars would put their names and faces forward to support the campaign. But according to the Independent, not one player has stepped forward.

PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor has defended his members’ recalcitrance telling the newspaper: “Everybody assumes footballers are full of confidence, but it is not easy on issues like this. Remember there was a time when even black players did not feel they could talk about race.”

Taylor continued the defence on the PFA website:

“The PFA are proud of our work in the field of anti-racism demonstrating that in football we are all united regardless of race, colour or creed. The English game is a beacon of diversity with players from many backgrounds, countries and continents demonstrating their skills on the field of play. It is unacceptable for them to be subjected to abusive chanting be it racist or homophobic whilst they play. It is vital that we continue to work towards eradicating all forms of discrimination including homophobia. I applaud the ongoing work in this area.”

The newspaper reports that players feared being ridiculed by both opposition players and supporters for appearing in the video, and being subjected to ridicule from opposition supporters.

The Tragic Story of Justin Fashanu

In the early 1990’s, Justin Fashanu became the first player in England to announce his homosexuality. He had already experienced a great deal of bigotry when he became the nation’s first black footballer to merit a £1m transfer. Brian Clough had brought him to Nottingham Forest in that deal as the Midlands club sought to build on their two Champions League successes (then called the European Cup).

According to Clough’s own autobiography, when the legendary outspoken though self proclaimed left-wing manager discovered Fashanu’s sexuality, his attitude towards Fashanu changed. The player was moved on shortly afterwards.

From that point on, Fashanu’s career took him to several countries including Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, Sweden and the USA, where he played his last game for the Atlanta Ruckus (now the Silverbacks) in 1997.

Fashanu committed suicide in May 1998, shortly after US police questioned him over an affair with a 17 year old. His suicide note explicitly referenced the incident. An inquest in London, held on 9 September 1998, heard that there was in fact no warrant out for Fashanu’s arrest and that the American police had already dropped the investigation because of lack of evidence.

Two other players have been caught up in well publicised incidents far more recently. Graham Le Saux was a talented and sophisticated full back from the Channel Islands who represented Chelsea with distinction between 1987 and 2003. He held a Master’s level degree in Economics, and was one of a small number of English Premiership footballers with a university education. In the Chelsea dressing room, he stood out by reading the left leaning broadsheet newspaper, the Guardian, rather than the downmarket tabloids, that were typical fare for footballers then.

Because of this, he was frequently targeted for homophobic abuse, despite being happily married with two children. Sadly this idiocy wasn’t confined to fans. In a match against Liverpool, the idiotic Robbie Fowler bent over and pointed his rear end in Le Saux’s direction as he prepared to take a free kick. Le Saux was then booked for delaying the free kick but obtained his revenge later in the game when he thumped Fowler behind the referee’s back.

Last January, four Tottenham fans received bans for homophobic abuse aimed at Portsmouth’s Sol Campbell. Campbell had left Spurs for their North London rivals Arsenal in 2001, a move still resented by some Spurs fans. They received three year bans after a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, involving a total of 11 men, including three juveniles,

Kick It Out, the Anti-Racism Group Backed the FA's Campaign

Homophobia – the Last Outpost of Bigotry?

In the mid 1970’s, black footballers began to appear in English football. Pioneers such as Nottingham Forests’ Viv Anderson and the West Bromwich Albion trio of Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendan Batson blazed a trail for those to follow.

Unfortunately, they also experienced repeated racism and bigotry from the terraces as almost entirely white crowds resorted to racist taunts, motivated primarily by a desire to put them off their game and on occasions due to infiltration of football crowds by far right wing groups.

Since those days, much has changed and racism at England’s football grounds has been largely stamped out due to well organised educational campaigns, clubs throwing racists out of their grounds and new stadia meaning that clubs now know the identities of everyone inside the grounds. Race relations have generally improved in that time all over England in schools and in the workplace.

Sadly, homophobic sentiments have not been subject to the same campaign or organised resistance in football. The FA’s attempt is laudible but the lack of any enthusiasm from players shows just how far they have to go.

The situation is worse in Scotland where Rangers and Celtic fans still indulge regularly in sectarian and religiously offensive chants at away games, despite well publicised campaigns by both clubs aimed at appeasing their critics.

In Italy, the football authorities have been fining Juventus fans with regularity due to a persistent campaign aimed at Internazionale’s Mario Balotelli.

German Football Association Vows Support for Gay Players

More on Racism in Football:

Juventus Fans Fined Yet AGAIN for Racism

Maurice Edu Racially Abused by Rangers Fans

Juve Fined for Racist Chanting

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