Kicking homophobia out of football
May 8th, 2008
School kids and football managers alike are quite happy to shout about kicking racism out of football, but they’re not so bothered about homophobia.
A new campaign to get rid of homophobia in football has now been launched, almost exactly ten years after the suicide of Justin Fashanu, the world’s first openly gay soccer player.
A spokesperson for the campaign said “The FA, in conjunction with Stonewall and the Gay Footballers Support Network, are fighting anti-gay prejudice on the terraces, looking to stamp out the kind of chants that haunted Justin.
“But ten years after his death, which the football world refused to mark, there are still no openly gay professional players or managers.”
In fact, one week before the campaign launched, Juventus managing director Luciano Moggi caused outrage when he claimed that gay men can’t play football.
Speaking on the KlausCondicio programme on Italian television, Moggi said “I never wanted to have a homosexual player and I still wouldn’t sign one. In the teams where I worked there were never any.
“I’m old school but I know the ambiance of football and a gay wouldn’t be able to survive within it. A homosexual cannot do the job of a footballer. The football world is not designed for them, it’s a special atmosphere, one in which you stand naked under the showers.”
One of the aims of the ‘Justin’ campaign is to convince the FA to observe May 2 as Justin Fashanu Day.
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