Homosexuality in association football
Encyclopedia
Homophobia
has been widespread in association football throughout the world. Journalist Matt Williams stated that being a gay professional player in football is still a taboo, which journalist Simon Barnes has said will never change.
was named on Brazilian television as a homosexual by the manager of a rival team. When Richarlyson undertook legal action, the complaint was thrown out by the judge, who stated "football was a virile masculine sport and not a homosexual one."
president Todor Batkov
felt it acceptable to call referee Mike Riley
a "British homosexual", following Riley's reporting of racist chanting at the club during a UEFA Cup
game.
player David Testo
, having been released by Montreal Impact
the previous month, affirmed he was gay in an interview on with the French Canadian division of Radio Canada that was published on November 10, 2011.
has joined a Football Association campaign against homophobia in football.
The gay rights group Stonewall
published a report in August 2009 which described English football as "institutionally homophobic."
Even straight players, such as Graeme Le Saux
and Sol Campbell
, have been the victim of homophobic abuse; Le Saux by fellow player Robbie Fowler
, and Campbell by opposing supporters.
The Gay Football Supporters Network
was founded in 1989 to campaign for gay rights in English football, and it currently organises the GFSN National League
, a league consisting of gay teams. Stonewall Football Club
is currently Britain's highest ranking gay football team, are on the verge of going semi-professional.
In August, 2010, Hope Powell
, the coach of the England women’s team, was named in 68th place on The Independent
newspaper’s Pink List of influential lesbian and gay people in the UK.
, older brother of fellow footballer John Fashanu
, was the first professional footballer to come out as gay, after he agreed an exclusive with The Sun tabloid newspaper on 22 October 1990. Fashanu claimed to have had an affair with a married Conservative MP who he first met in a London gay bar. A week later, John Fashanu publicly distanced himself from his brother, describing Justin as an "outcast", while Justin's manager Brian Clough
famously described him as a "bloody
poof."
Fashanu was interviewed for the July 1991 cover story of Gay Times
, and Fashanu revealed that no club had offered him a full-time contract since the story first appeared. In March 1998, in America, a seventeen-year-old claimed to police that he had been sexually assaulted by Fashanu after a night of drinking. Fashanu was questioned about this by the police on 3 April, but he was not held in custody. It was widely reported in the press that the police later arrived at his flat with a warrant to arrest him on charges of second-degree sexual assault, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault. However, Fashanu had already returned to England.
In the morning of 3 May 1998, he was found hanged in a deserted lock-up garage he had broken into, in Shoreditch
, London, after visiting Chariots Roman Spa, a local gay sauna
. In his suicide note
, he stated: "I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family." 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. The inquest recorded a verdict of suicide.
came out after retiring as a player and coach.
A gay amateur team operates in Paris
under the name Paris Foot Gay. The club's highest profile supporter from within the professional game has been former France national football team
player Vikash Dhorasoo (who is heterosexual) whilst a number of leading French professional clubs have signed their charter against homophobia. The club ran into controversy in 2009 however when the Islam
ic amateur side Creteil Bebel refused to play them due to the "principles" of Paris Foot Gay.
The issue returned to the spotlight in 2010 when amateur FC Chooz refused to register Yoann Lemaire, who had been with the club for 14 years, due to him being gay as they claimed it might lead to "trouble" with his team-mates.
In December 2006, Rund magazine published an interview done over a two-year period with two gay footballers living secret lives. One was married and said his wife did not know of his sexual orientation nor realise he was involved in an intimate relationship with his childhood friend. The other often brought a female friend to social events.
A common fan chant in German-speaking countries is to sing Ihr seid alle homosexuell! ("You're all homosexuals!") along the melody of The Beatles
song "Yellow Submarine
".
In March 2010, former manager Rudi Assauer
said that "If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: 'You have shown courage'. But then I would tell him to find something else to do. That's because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch hunts."
retired from professional football after coming out in 2000, citing widespread homophobia in the football community as the reason.
Several female players have come out as homosexual, including Bente Nordby
and Linda Medalen
.
, who played for the South Africa women's national football team
, was an openly-lesbian player who was raped and murdered. Her fate was the most public example of a lesbian being raped by males in order to "cure" the victim of their sexual orientation, which in South Africa has been dubbed "corrective rape
".
.
A popular football chant
in Spanish stadiums is "maricón", which translates as "faggot."
, son of former Sweden international
Glenn Hysén
, came out in March 2011 as gay whilst playing for Utsiktens BK
, then a Swedish football Division 2 side.
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
has been widespread in association football throughout the world. Journalist Matt Williams stated that being a gay professional player in football is still a taboo, which journalist Simon Barnes has said will never change.
Brazil
RicharlysonRicharlyson Barbosa Felisbino
Richarlyson Barbosa Felisbino, simply Richarlyson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Clube Atlético Mineiro.Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a left back and central defender....
was named on Brazilian television as a homosexual by the manager of a rival team. When Richarlyson undertook legal action, the complaint was thrown out by the judge, who stated "football was a virile masculine sport and not a homosexual one."
Bulgaria
In 2006, PFC Levski SofiaPFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
president Todor Batkov
Todor Batkov
Todor Batkov is president of the Bulgarian football club Levski .Since June 1991, Batkov has been a managing partner of the “Batkov, Stoev, Botev and Co.” Lawyer’s House. He is a member of the College of Barristers, the International Lawyer’s League and the Supervising Council of MobilTel Ltd...
felt it acceptable to call referee Mike Riley
Mike Riley (referee)
Riley took charge of the 2004 Carling Cup final, between Bolton and Middlesbrough, in a game that saw all three goals scored within the first 25 minutes...
a "British homosexual", following Riley's reporting of racist chanting at the club during a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
game.
Canada
Former MLSMLS
- Organizations :* Major League Soccer, the highest level professional soccer league in the United States and Canada* Michigan Lutheran Seminary, a preparatory high-school in Saginaw, Michigan- Commerce :...
player David Testo
David Testo
David Testo is an American soccer player. He is one of the few openly gay athletes in professional sports.-College:...
, having been released by Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1992, the team played in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid until the 2011 season. The owner Joey Saputo now operates the MLS team Montreal ImpactThe...
the previous month, affirmed he was gay in an interview on with the French Canadian division of Radio Canada that was published on November 10, 2011.
England
The prominent gay rights activist Peter TatchellPeter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
has joined a Football Association campaign against homophobia in football.
The gay rights group Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
published a report in August 2009 which described English football as "institutionally homophobic."
Even straight players, such as Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English footballer of French ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and for the England national football team. Primarily a left back, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.After...
and Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
, have been the victim of homophobic abuse; Le Saux by fellow player Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
, and Campbell by opposing supporters.
The Gay Football Supporters Network
Gay Football Supporters Network
The Gay Football Supporters Network is a U.K. non-profit organisation founded in early 1989 by a small group of football fans who happened to be gay...
was founded in 1989 to campaign for gay rights in English football, and it currently organises the GFSN National League
GFSN National League
The GFSN National League is an amateur league competition for gay football clubs across the United Kingdom. The league is associated with the Gay Football Supporters Network - a football supporters group catering for the LGBT community...
, a league consisting of gay teams. Stonewall Football Club
Stonewall F.C.
Stonewall F.C. is Britain's top-ranking gay football team. and Britain's first gay football team. It was founded in 1991 by Aslie Pitter. They play their homes game at Barn Elms Playing Fields, Barnes, London....
is currently Britain's highest ranking gay football team, are on the verge of going semi-professional.
In August, 2010, Hope Powell
Hope Powell
Hope Patricia Powell, CBE is the coach of the England women's national football team. Powell is an ‘A’ License coach and in 2003 became the first woman to achieve the UEFA Pro Licence - the highest coaching award available.-Early life:Powell was educated at Bethany School and went on to take A...
, the coach of the England women’s team, was named in 68th place on The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper’s Pink List of influential lesbian and gay people in the UK.
Justin Fashanu
Justin FashanuJustin Fashanu
Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be homosexual, and came out to the press later in his career, to become the first professional footballer to be openly gay...
, older brother of fellow footballer John Fashanu
John Fashanu
John "Fash" Fashanu is a British television presenter and ex-footballer of Nigerian and Guyanese descent. In his former career, he was a centre-forward, who scored 134 league goals in a career lasting 17 years...
, was the first professional footballer to come out as gay, after he agreed an exclusive with The Sun tabloid newspaper on 22 October 1990. Fashanu claimed to have had an affair with a married Conservative MP who he first met in a London gay bar. A week later, John Fashanu publicly distanced himself from his brother, describing Justin as an "outcast", while Justin's manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
famously described him as a "bloody
Bloody
Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as an expletive attributive in Australia, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, South Africa , New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Anglophone Caribbean and Sri Lanka...
poof."
Fashanu was interviewed for the July 1991 cover story of Gay Times
Gay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
, and Fashanu revealed that no club had offered him a full-time contract since the story first appeared. In March 1998, in America, a seventeen-year-old claimed to police that he had been sexually assaulted by Fashanu after a night of drinking. Fashanu was questioned about this by the police on 3 April, but he was not held in custody. It was widely reported in the press that the police later arrived at his flat with a warrant to arrest him on charges of second-degree sexual assault, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault. However, Fashanu had already returned to England.
In the morning of 3 May 1998, he was found hanged in a deserted lock-up garage he had broken into, in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, London, after visiting Chariots Roman Spa, a local gay sauna
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
. In his suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
, he stated: "I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family." 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. The inquest recorded a verdict of suicide.
France
Olivier RouyerOlivier Rouyer
Olivier Rouyer is a retired football striker from France. He earned seventeen international caps for the French national team during the late 1970s and early 1980s. A player of AS Nancy, he was a member of the French team in the 1978 FIFA World Cup...
came out after retiring as a player and coach.
A gay amateur team operates in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under the name Paris Foot Gay. The club's highest profile supporter from within the professional game has been former France national football team
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
player Vikash Dhorasoo (who is heterosexual) whilst a number of leading French professional clubs have signed their charter against homophobia. The club ran into controversy in 2009 however when the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic amateur side Creteil Bebel refused to play them due to the "principles" of Paris Foot Gay.
The issue returned to the spotlight in 2010 when amateur FC Chooz refused to register Yoann Lemaire, who had been with the club for 14 years, due to him being gay as they claimed it might lead to "trouble" with his team-mates.
Germany
In 1997 footballer Marcus Urban came out to his team mates at Rot-Weiss Erfurt in a move that immediately ended his professional career. He did not come out to the wider public until ten years later.In December 2006, Rund magazine published an interview done over a two-year period with two gay footballers living secret lives. One was married and said his wife did not know of his sexual orientation nor realise he was involved in an intimate relationship with his childhood friend. The other often brought a female friend to social events.
A common fan chant in German-speaking countries is to sing Ihr seid alle homosexuell! ("You're all homosexuals!") along the melody of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song "Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine (song)
"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...
".
In March 2010, former manager Rudi Assauer
Rudi Assauer
Rudolf "Rudi" Assauer is a former German football manager and former player. Due to his habit of smoking a great number of cigars, he has been given the nickname "Stumpen-Rudi", or "Cheroot Rudi"....
said that "If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: 'You have shown courage'. But then I would tell him to find something else to do. That's because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch hunts."
Norway
Thomas BerlingThomas Berling
Thomas Berling is a retired Norwegian football defender. His retirement from football sparked media attention.He hails from Drevja. He played for Nardo FK, and joined Lyn ahead of the 1999 season. He played four games in the second highest Norwegian league, and also played for the u-19 national...
retired from professional football after coming out in 2000, citing widespread homophobia in the football community as the reason.
Several female players have come out as homosexual, including Bente Nordby
Bente Nordby
Bente Nordby is a former Norwegian football goalkeeper, who last played for Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France. She played with the Norwegian Women's National Football Team from 1991 to 2007.- Career :...
and Linda Medalen
Linda Medalen
Linda Medalen is a former Norwegian footballer.She was one of Norway's most celebrated women footballers, finishing her international career with 152 caps, scoring 64 goals. She was on the Norwegian team that won the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup.She played most of her career in Norway with Asker...
.
South Africa
Eudy SimelaneEudy Simelane
Eudy Simelane was a South African footballer who played for the South Africa women's national football team and an LGBT-rights activist. She was raped and murdered in her hometown of KwaThema, Springs, Gauteng.-Football:...
, who played for the South Africa women's national football team
South Africa women's national football team
The South Africa national women's football team, nicknamed Banyana Banyana , is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association.Their first official match was held in 30 May 1993 against Swaziland....
, was an openly-lesbian player who was raped and murdered. Her fate was the most public example of a lesbian being raped by males in order to "cure" the victim of their sexual orientation, which in South Africa has been dubbed "corrective rape
Corrective rape
Corrective rape is a criminal practice first seen in South Africa, whereby lesbian women are raped by men, sometimes under supervision by members of their families or local communities, purportedly as a means of "curing" them of their homosexuality....
".
Spain
The first gay and lesbian football supporters' group to be officially accepted by a Spanish club was founded in February 2009, and supports FC BarcelonaFC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
.
A popular football chant
Football chant
A football chant or terrace chant, is a song or chant sung at association football matches. They can be historic, dating back to the formation of the club, adaptations of popular songs, or spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch. They are one of the last remaining sources of an oral folk song...
in Spanish stadiums is "maricón", which translates as "faggot."
Sweden
Anton HysénAnton Hysén
Anton Hysén is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén...
, son of former Sweden international
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
Glenn Hysén
Glenn Hysén
Glenn Ingvar Hysén is a football manager and former player who played for leading Dutch, Italian and English clubs and won 68 caps for Sweden...
, came out in March 2011 as gay whilst playing for Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK is a Swedish football club located in Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg.-Background:Since their foundation in 1935 Utsiktens BK has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Division 2 Västra Götaland which is...
, then a Swedish football Division 2 side.
See also
- Gay Football Supporters NetworkGay Football Supporters NetworkThe Gay Football Supporters Network is a U.K. non-profit organisation founded in early 1989 by a small group of football fans who happened to be gay...
- List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sportspeople