Professional players across Britain will be asked to wear rainbow-colored laces in their boots this weekend in support of a campaign to tackle homophobia in soccer.
Of the 5,000 or so players across the top leagues in England, Scotland and Wales none are openly gay, leading gay rights charity Stonewall to suggest that players are afraid to “come out” because of the impact it could have on their careers.
Bookmakers Paddy Power are supporting the campaign, which has the slogan “Right Behind Gay Footballers.”
Sets of rainbow-colored laces will be distributed to the 134 professional clubs in Britain.
Attitudes in British soccer, whether it be at elite level or in Sunday morning park leagues, are notoriously slow to change and Stonewall deputy chief executive Laura Doughty said it was time the game was “dragged into the 21st century.”
“It’s time for football clubs and players to step up and make a visible stand against homophobia in our national game,” she said in a statement. “By wearing rainbow laces players will send a message of support to gay players.”
Homophobia is still rife, according to a report compiled earlier this year by the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters’ Club and the Gay Football Supporters’ Network.
The coastal city of Brighton has one of Britain’s largest gay communities, leading to regular homophobic abuse from opposing fans during matches. The report said Brighton fans had been subjected to homophobic abuse at 70 percent of away fixtures.
“Brighton fans have been the subject of ‘banter’ about the city’s gay community for as long as many of our fans can remember,” a Brighton supporters’ club statement said in April. “It wouldn’t be described as ‘banter’ if the taunts and chants were about skin color and something would have been done by now to stop it.”
In March, former Leeds United player Robbie Rogers said he was stepping back from the game after coming out as gay. Three months later, Rogers became the first openly gay athlete to compete in a major US professional team when he played for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
TOUGH RIVALS: Taiwanese goalkeeper Wang Yu-ting produced a superb performance as Japan attempted 30 shots and enjoyed almost 90 percent of possession Bayern Munich midfielder Momoko Tanikawa yesterday finally cracked a dogged Taiwan as powerhouse Japan won their AFC Women’s Asian Cup match in Perth, Australia, 2-0. Brimming with a talented squad featuring 16 England-based players, Japan dominated a one-sided match played in fierce heat, but they were left frustrated by an inability to hit the target other than Tanikawa’s strike in the 61st minute and a header from substitute Kiko Seike in the 92nd minute. The highest-ranked team in the competition at eight, Japan are desperate for a third title to add to their back-to-back triumphs in 2014 and 2018, but
RSS