Red card for homophobia and transphobia

Red card for homophobia and transphobia

I suppose this is the best thread for this topic.

The FA along with other British sports governing bodies have become initial signatories of the Charter for Action, which aims to make sport a welcoming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/WhatWeDo/Equality/NewsAndFeatures/2011/Transgender

It reminded me of this article from John Nicholson on F365 on how homophobic football is:
Would A Gay Footballer Bother You?

Many of you would know Justin Fashanu and may have seen him turnout for Miramar last century. He is still, according to the BBC still the only professional footballer in the world to disclose that he was gay.

I was discussing this with my wife, one point she did make was:
- not quite on topic but does highlight gender stereotypes reinforced in football, how is being a female negative?

It's like telling a woman she is manly would be offensive to them. Nothing negative about being a man either.

I knew a guy here in London many years ago that was player/manager for an openly gay football team and they never had any problems.  Most people who play or support football these days has a general tolerance for homosexuality so when the first footballer does come out in the middle of his career (as opposed to at the end of it) there will be masses of news on the story but ultimately it will be much ado about nothing, as the generally public will just shrug their shoulders and get on with things.

It is crazy to think that looking at it statistically there should be numerous gay professional footballers. I don't see, as you say, what the big deal is and why they aren't open about who they are. Hopefully it happens soon and that should make it easier for others.

Unless you main motivation to becoming a pro player is to snag a wag.

Not everyone is called John Terry.

My mate in Wellington can't understand why I consider "She fell over" to be hilarious.

On the subject, I should note that if women's football was homophobic, you'd lose about half the players overnight.

I briefly helped coach one of the Woman's roller derby teams down here last year and  a male mate was trying to get me to go to a recent game and I said I find it kind of boring watching anyone skate in a circle after the first cpl of laps and he was like yeah but man its great perving at the woman in their costumes and he was totally unbelieveing whn i said that of the team I knew prob 70% batted for their own team. He totally cdn't get his head around why they wd then wear provacative costumes if weren't trying to titilate males *sigh*

Related to this topic in a manner of speaking.  http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/footballers-uncouth-201104043685/

http://www.whoateallthegoals.com/2011/10/women-football-and-century-of-sexism.html

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/jun/13/euro-2012-italy-antonio-cassano-homophobia?INTCMP=SRCH

not really surprising considering the source....

 

I only just came across this thread btw but I think its interesting stuff. Racism has been so widely acknowledged as a problem in football for a while now but homophobia still slips under the radar. If rugby league can accept openly gay players (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Roberts_%28rugby_league%29) then surely football can too? Especially in countries where homosexuality is socailly acceptable - obviously no footballer playing in Qatar is going to come out any time soon, for instance

Not sure if this is a hijack of the original topic, but this is one of my 5% serious posts.

Last WC some people got annoyed with the English "10 German Bombers" song (and of course there was the picture of the two RAF style supporters looking like the Luftwaffe had shat on their spitfires), and I see on the fighting cock forum that a few posters (UK) are also commenting on this for the Euros (saying that it was racist and the war was over 70 years ago etc etc).

Growing up in England in the early 70s this sort of thing would be quite acceptable (as was Alf Garnett...sh*t I've probably just ruined my argument), and I can understand why younger people (and the Germans!) would take offence these days.  But I don't actually see this as racist as for example, throwing bananas, making hissing noises for gas chambers or the like.

Do other people find it offensive?  And if so have you watched the Fawlty Towers episode "Germans" and what are your thoughts on that?

 

 

 

I don't think it's as racist, but I do think it still is to some degree, and should be stamped out as well simply because if any line drawn on when it is ok to mock someone because of their race/nationality/ethnicity/sexuality etc you open the door for it in other forms. In that specific case I get the feeling that English fans doing it think it's just good natured ribbing but to German fans its a constant reminder of a horrible part of their history which occured before they born and they probably cringe at being associated with. On a similar note, I find it weird that there is a rugby team in this country called the Crusaders which if you were of Middle Eastern descent might be quite offensive, especially as you could argue that the historical legacy of the crusades is still felt in that region today. Although there's obviously a massive difference in the historical gap since it occurred I don't see how its fundamentally different to calling a team the SS or the Khmer Rouge - all groups who thought they were morally justified in commiting horrible acts against civilian populations.

Anyway its tough because you don't want to be the fun police or anything but there needs to be a level of respect and understanding of how your actions will be interpreted. Its especially difficult when football becomes an expression of identity - obviously nationalism is by its nature an exclusionary construct which creates a sense of "us" (the nation) vs "them" (everyone else) and national sports teams are one of the key ways nationalism gets expressed in much of the world these days, and football is the most popular sport so most likely to end up tied into national identities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banal_nationalism

I love the conflict of nations on the sports field and the way in which certain aspects of national character manifest in football teams but it's easy to see how that can quickly crossover into clashes like those seen before the Russia/Poland game for instance. English national identity has especially developed in the last century through 2 wars (and one world cup) with Germany and so Germany in particular is an easy external construct for English fans to develop their national symbolism in response to, hence the RAF style fans. Of course the RAF to English symbolises bravery and heroism in the face of an external aggressor but to Germans it could represent an organisation which commited what effectively amount to war crimes (for example, the bombing of Dresden http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II). I'm not going to argue whether this interpretation is correct or not but how would English fans who lost grandparents in the Blitz react to German fans dressed as Luftwaffe bombers?

Of course some stuff is clearly a joke and should be taken in that context, like the Fawlty towers episode or other tv shows but the diffence is about how they are presented.  A tv show marketed as a comedy with a laugh track is clearly being satirical and even if it is offensive to some it is considered obviously a joke under media law  - at least in NZ, as far as I'm aware - which is why BroTown can be racist and not get punished, whereas someone like Paul Henry or Micheal Laws making racial stereotypes in the media are considered offensive because they are not in an obvious satirical context. Of course you can argue that the BroTown creators are a minority and so that's part of it too but they don't just make fun of their own ethnic group but also Asians, Indians, and so on. Drawing that line can be hard in the media, and I guess the real world equivalent is making jokes around your mates who know your personal beliefs and opinions and thus won't be offended or can hit you up if they are, as opposed to acting that way in a public environment with people who don't personally know you. So to get back to the English fans, because they are out in public doing this and often directing it at Germans they have never met before, then yes it is offensive, whereas if they were at home watching the game with a German mate and mocking them about the war I doubt that would be offensive, or if it was they could deal with it as friends.

That's my take on it anyway. Throwing bananas, imitiating gas chambers etc are worse simply because in many parts of the world black and Jewish people are discriminated against and are the subject of hate crimes etc whereas that isn't really true of Germans (as far as I'm aware). However the underlying issue is the same for me. Having said all of that I will agree that this is a minefield of conflicting opinions and ideas and there is no right answer. Lots of issues around human rights and so on seem clear cut at first glance but once you look at where the line between acceptable behaviour and unacceptable behaviour lies you start to realise how arbitrary a lot of common understandings of these things are.

Brilliant response - and agree with all that you have posted.  I think for me it's one of those situations (like "she fell over") where I'd personally not do it but feel a bit envious of those who did.

 

Erm, it's still OK to say "Tards" isn't it?

 

 

 

WTF? That's just bizarre on several levels

 

Yes, yes it is.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jul/11/liverpool-premier-league-club-lgbt

 

 

Liverpool FC will become the first Premier League club to be officially represented in a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event in Britain when a banner featuring its crest is carried by club staff and members of the women's team at next month's Liverpool Pride.

Ian Ayre, Liverpool's managing director, said the club's involvement underlines its determination to rid football of homophobia. "We continue to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that equality and principles of inclusion are embedded into all areas of Liverpool Football Club and, for many years, we have taken positive steps to promote our stance against homophobia both on and off the pitch," he said.