Homophobia in Football

I started a new job recently. At no point did I consider that I might be discriminated against on the basis of my race, sexuality or beliefs. I had every faith that I would be able to turn up to work without fear, without reprisal and with the freedom to be myself.

Everyone should be confident in expecting this.

However, if you are gay and a professional male footballer, these very basic expectations might be no more than wishful thinking. You might be in a position where you feel forced to draw a veil over your true self, to subjugate your sexuality and intimate needs to your job and the fear that they might preclude you from pursuing your passion.

Football, perhaps above all other sports, struggles with the very concept of homosexuality and is falling along way short in dealing with homophobia within the game itself and from the stands. Although it would be naïve to suggest that racism was no longer a problem in the modern game, significant progress has been made – with homophobia and the acceptance of gay players, the same cannot be said.

Lesbians? Why, of course!

The women’s game is a little different. There are many players who are comfortable being openly gay in their teams, and homophobic abuse from fans is a smaller issue, if it is one at all. Casey Stoney, England and Lincoln Ladies Captain, is able to report that “being gay is not a problem and never has been. Players just don't experience the same fears as they do in the men's game”. Whilst this is good news, this may, as Stoney points out, be because of the relatively poor following of the women’s game. The frequent belittling of the women’s game by many male fans and, without detouring into the distasteful, certain fantasies that they may harbour, might also play into lesbianism being less of an issue than gay male players. Nevertheless, the women’s game offers grounds for optimism insofar as the team mates of lesbian players can handle it, their managers can handle it, and the fans can handle it. Most importantly, lesbian players are able to live their lives both professionally and personally as themselves.

Casey Stoney

But this positivity cannot be transferred to the men’s game.

Men’s football has a storied, tragic and vulgar past with regards to homophobia. There are so few instances of openly gay players and former players that you can count them on one hand. The preeminent example is that of Justin Fashanu. That his life and death has been the main case study of homosexuality in football says a lot by itself. The sad fact is that the life of one man is nothing to the cash-propelled juggernaut of a sport. It keeps on rolling, no matter who falls beneath its wheels.

Fifteen years later…

Whilst we all would hope that significant progress has been made between Justin Fashanu’s suicide in 1998, the reality is far less certain. In wider society, huge steps have been made towards equality and tackling discrimination, but in football, male homosexuality remains a major taboo. The laws of statistics tell us that there are likely to be far more gay players than the two who are currently out. If the problem of homophobia is one that doesn’t have as high a profile as racism, it is in part because its victims are so much less apparent. It is almost certain that fear keeps their heads below the parapet. It is itself a tragedy that the victims of targeted and more general homophobia feel they cannot speak out. Even if they were to be greeted with the “so what?” attitude that any revelations about their sexuality deserves, the fact they feel they cannot openly be themselves is a substantial failing of the game.

This last season more than any other in recent memory has seen movement and noise around the problem of homophobia in football, which can only be for the better.  Anders Lindegaard wrote so well on the subject last November (or here if you read Danish), and showed more perspective on the situation than most. He sums things up very well:

“The problem for me is that a lot of football fans are stuck in a time of intolerance that does not deserve to be compared with modern society's development in the last decades. While the rest of the world has been more liberal, civilised and less prejudiced, the world of football remains stuck in the past when it comes to tolerance”

We can’t tar all football fans, players and managers with the same brush – but the fear that gay players must experience comes from somewhere. A lot of the world has moved on, and as Lindegaard says, has become less prejudiced and more liberal. We would hope that Lindegaard is correct in saying that most players would have no problem if one of their team mates were gay. If it is genuinely the case, then that is a very good thing. The support and acceptance of your team mates of who you are is vital. It is the very least, the very, very least that a gay footballer should expect. But they have the right to expect so much more.

Lindegaard is bold enough to confront the problem. Confronting it and speaking about it are the first steps in tackling the problem. Lindegaard, though, does not have skin in the game –whilst bold, he is not brave.

Robbie Rogers is brave.

In February 2013, Robbie Rogers, formerly of Leeds United, announced both his coming out and his retirement from the game at the age of 25. He felt that he couldn’t come out and live his new life as an openly gay man and be a professional footballer at the same time. Robbie Rogers dreamed his whole life of playing in a World Cup, of making his family proud. He also found himself anguished at hiding himself from his family, his team mates, the world.

Who the hell are any of us to deprive him of having it all?

It is not greed to want to be free. It is not greed to want to live openly. It is not greed to want to live as yourself and not have to hide half of it away. It is not greed to want all these things and to pursue your dreams as well. It should never be one or the other. It should be everything. Altogether. All the time.

Robbie Rogers is fortunate. His family is supportive. He spoke to the Guardian earlier in the year, and the love of his mother and sister comes through very strongly. He is level-headed and thoughtful, emotionally capable and interesting.

Many people felt that an opportunity had been missed when Rogers walked away from the game. The hero that Lindegaard spoke of, someone who would stand up for their sexuality in the game, seemed to have a startling skew in his priorities – family and personal life ahead of the game? Perish the thought.

But heaping that responsibility on one person, expecting them to lead the fight against homophobia in football, was unfair. Nevertheless, it was sad that Rogers felt he had to leave the game and that he wouldn’t be around to prove that having it all could be done.

Everything. All the time.

In May 2013, Robbie Rogers returned to football. He signed for LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer, returning to California (his home) to play for his home team. In the period between walking away from the game and his return, Rogers had a change of heart about being a role model and about being openly gay and playing football at the same time. Speaking to a group of LGBT teens in Portland, Oregon reaffirmed his desire to play the game, and made him (his words) “man up a little bit”.

Robbie Rogers. The First Man.

It isn’t surprising that Rogers found a new home in football in the MLS. The league seems a million miles from the older European leagues and California seems to be less enthralled in the gaucheness of the old footballing world. People in Europe may condescend the MLS, and look upon it as they would a paddling pool in relation to the ocean, but European football has been surpassed in one way at least. It is now up to the old world to catch up to the new.

Robbie Rogers displayed fearlessness. That fearlessness is rare. The problem still remains that younger players may find it difficult to come out before they have established themselves. It is sad that many would feel they would be discriminated against and hide themselves away because they saw it as an obstacle to their career. Whilst failing the few gay footballers to have gone before (including the probably multitude who never had the opportunity to come out) is bad, failing the younger generation is perhaps even worse. It would represent a missed opportunity to rectify the problems of the past and improve the lives of those yet to play the game. It would be dereliction of the duty of care and social responsibility that such a large and prevalent aspect of public society has.

ROAR! ROAR! DINOSAUR!!!

Football is run by men, and governed by interests, that are antiquated, conservative, slow moving and bigoted. The preservation of the status quo is their imperative. Preserving footballs image and maintaining the sanctity of their cash cow takes precedence over the health of the game, equality, and the wellbeing of the players. It is fear and ignorance that perpetuates the state and accompanying image of a game that no longer reflects society and the majority of its fan base.

Football will not countenance a doping scandal or acknowledge that it has a problem for fear of damaging the “product” – all the while cheapening and undermining the very same. As a sport it is incapable of digging into its problems, afraid of what it might discover. FIFA, UEFA, football itself turns a blind eye to the internal disease of the sacred cow rather than perform the unsightly surgery that is necessary to cure it. What is true of doping in football is true of homophobia in football.

Football and its governing bodies lag far behind corporate culture, policy and responsibility when it comes to homosexuality, equality and the right not to be discriminated against. But this is not surprising. When world football is run by Sepp Blatter, what more can you expect?

A Dinosaur

His remarks about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and their stance on homosexuality were truly ignorant. Apologize he may have done, but his more recent remarks that homosexuality is a “moral and ethical issue” merely illustrate how poorly he, and FIFA, understand the issue of homophobia. Their own anti-discrimination attempts are lacklustre – sexual orientation is relegated to an “other reason” behind politics, language and religion as a basis of discrimination. Would any of us say that they are genuinely more common causes for discrimination in football than sexual orientation?

Sepp Blatter and FIFA fail to acknowledge that homophobia is as bad and as discriminatory as racism. It displays the hypocrisy and homophobia that is present at the very highest levels of governance in the game. It is unforgiveable that homophobia is not treated as serious an issue as racism when instances of violence and brutality against members of the LGBT community globally are a daily and barbaric occurrence.

Race and sexuality are both entirely immaterial to the ability of a player to play football. But the insidious and malignant influence of the non-evidence based thinking of the “football men” holds firm. Old stereotypes and clichés dominate the thinking of those running and managing the game – anti-intellectualism is a badge of honour.

A purge is needed – mostly of thoughts and attitudes, but quite often of personnel too. We can but hope.

Tell me something good…

The issue of homophobia in football is being addressed. Campaigns by Football V Homophobia and Kick It Out are out there, but their visibility is very much lower than it needs to be.

Professional players are more outspoken than before, and Robbie Rogers is the prototypical success story. But there is so far to go – the actions of the players themselves and pressure from fans with a conscience are vital.

Reclaiming the game for the people that play and support it, whatever their sexuality is imperative.

But you knew that already…

UPDATE:

Stonewall and the bookmaker Paddy Power have recently teamed up for a campaign with the aim of challenging footballers to support gay players through wearing rainbow laces. All players across the 134 professional clubs in the UK have been provided with a set and it is hoped that they will wear them in matches taking place over the weekend of 21 and 22 September.

The campaign has a message of "Right Behind Gay Footballers", with an accompanying #RBGF for Twitter.

So far, Leighton Baines scored a pair of marvelous free kicks with the rainbow laces, but there is still Sunday to come. It remains to be seen how visible the campaign truly is - only time will tell if it has the desired effect.

The campaign hasn't been without its criticism, but I think it goes without saying that it is a very positive step. Anything that generates discussion and anything that gets the players themselves involved and showing acceptance, maturity and support for gay people in football is a good thing.

When the issue desperately needs air, any campaign is better than nothing. Granted, one campaign won't ring in seismic changes, but progress has to begin somewhere.

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