In Brazil’s top-flight football league, Brazilirão, no player dares to wear the number twenty-four on their back. Is this because of bad luck associated with the number, or maybe some other sort of superstition? Well, in the Brazilian gambling game ‘Jogo de Bicho’, numbers are given a corresponding animal, with twenty-four’s being the deer.
In Brazilian Portuguese this translates as ‘veado’, a word commonly associated with ‘viado’ - a homophobic slur. This contrived connection stops players in the league from donning the number through fear of homophobic abuse and ridicule.
Brazil’s case is just one in a culture of homophobia that has plagued the world of football, while the LGBTQ+ community has otherwise made continuous progress in promoting civil rights and social inclusion.
Why is homosexuality among men still a major taboo in the footballing industry, and what is being done to create a culture that reflects our modern standards of non-discriminatory treatment? Looking specifically at English football, we must begin with a tragic case back in the 90s.
Englishman Justin Fashanu became the first openly gay professional football player, after publicising his sexual orientation in an interview with The Sun in 1990. Instead of becoming a watershed moment for gay footballers, the response was fuelled by hate. Justin’s own brother and fellow footballer John Fashanu repudiated him, calling him an “outcast”. His manager at Nottingham Forest, Brian Clough, would infamously then refer to Justin as a “bloody poof”.
Fashanu was subsequently ostracized from the game, with no club offering him a full-time contract ever again. In 1998, he was discovered having taken his own life, with a note stating:
“I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family.”
This harrowing episode was a major loss for both the sporting and LGBTQ+ communities, but also stood as a warning sign for the treatment of any player who may dare to express their true sexual identity. English football’s subsequent list of openly gay players is, unsurprisingly, brief.
It would take twenty-three years after Fashanu’s interview with The Sun until the next male England-based footballer would come out in 2013. American Robbie Rogers would still wait until his contract with Leeds United – whose fanbase has a notoriously bad track record on homophobia – was over to be open about his sexuality, before returning to the US. German Thomas Hitzlsperger also came out after his retirement in 2014 and is currently the only open player to have competed in the Premier League.
Today, there is only one male openly gay active professional in England – Blackpool’s Jake Daniels, who came out in 2022. Daniels has discussed the overwhelming support he’s felt from his teammates and the wider club, and his willingness to discuss his experiences shows the mainstream progression since the rhetoric around Fashanu in the 90s. This does seem to be the watershed moment that Fashanu never received, and Daniels’ courage should be celebrated, but overall, the situation still seems pretty dire.
As of the most recent Census in 2021, an estimated 3.1% of the UK population identify as gay or bisexual. Among 16- to 24-year-olds, this proportion goes up to 8%. With over 5,000 professional players based in England, many of whom lay in that younger age bracket, we must assume there are dozens of players in the closet at the very least.
So why, after all this time, is there still such a massive taboo around being a footballer who also happens to be attracted to the same sex? As gay rights group Stonewall stated in a report, English football remains “institutionally homophobic”. Sadly, this seems to be primarily driven by fan behaviour.
On countless occasions, English football crowds have cultivated atmospheres within grounds where homophobia is seemingly tolerated. This is mainly brought about through infamous chants. One major target of these homophobic taunts is Brighton Hove and Albion.
Known as the ‘gay capital of the UK’ due to its prominent LGBTQ+ community, Brighton’s fans are regularly subjected to homophobic abuse. Some examples include, from Leeds United fans: “Stand up, ‘cos you can’t sit down, stand up, ‘cos you can’t sit down…”, and from Arsenal fans: “We can see you, we can see you, we can see you holding hands!”.
This taunting became so acceptable that it even spread to the pitch, when in 2014 player Colin Kazim-Richards was charged over making homophobic gestures towards Brighton fans multiple times throughout a match. His only defence was that he was “bantering with the crowd” which, of course, didn’t hold up in a court of law or public opinion.
Like Kazim-Richards, fans have faced punishment when singled out for hateful chants, but action on an individual basis doesn’t seem to be enough of a deterrent to tackle the wider issue. As recently as November 2023 there were reports of homophobic abuse at a Nottingham Forrest vs Brighton game, with the grim irony being that Forest was Justin Fashanu’s old club.
If homophobia is to be truly tackled in English football, it requires attitudes to change institutionally. The Football Association’s action thus far has been all too passive. Their Football v Homophobia campaign was launched in 2010 to “challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation gender identity and expression at all levels of football”. Within four years of the initiative, only 11 Premier League teams had joined as well as only 17 of a further 72 teams in the lower leagues.
While this has improved over time, it indicates that clubs are more worried about their reputation among fans when taking political stances, even when they align with the standards of wider society. The collective action taken by fans in the fallout of the proposed Super League in 2021 indicated the power they hold over decisions made on behalf of their respective clubs. Meanwhile, the FA’s encouragement towards clubs to engage has remained minimal.
So, what better measures can be taken to create a more inclusive culture in English football? As mentioned, I believe this must come institutionally, and the FA’s attitude must take a proactive shift. The Premier League’s No Room For Racism initiative would be a good place to start for inspiration.
While racism is an ongoing issue in football, No Room For Racism has instilled values and schemes promoting visibility for ethnic minorities across all sectors of the Premier League, as well as taking a zero-tolerance stance for any instances of racial abuse at games. The Premier League’s workforce is gradually diversifying, and a new centralised reporting system is in place to act against discriminatory behaviour.
Leading by example must be as important in the case of homophobia, as most activism on the issues still comes from external organisations such as Stonewall. New systems need to be introduced that encourage members of the LGBTQ+ community to be heard in football, rather than feel ridiculed. Acts like taking the knee before games may seem merely symbolic, but they stand as a constant reminder of football’s social attitudes.
A prouder FA will mean Jake Daniels doesn’t stand alone in simply existing in his true skin. A prouder FA will mean the many closeted players can shine as themselves without fear of abuse. A prouder FA will encourage a swathe of new talent to get involved in football, who may have previously been turned off by its homophobic reputation. A prouder FA will ensure that the tragedy of Justin Fashanu never befalls another player ever again.
When football begins to see more gay players, attitudes among fans will begin to change. After the hooliganism of the 70s and 80s, the reputation of football fans is one of intolerance, but this is an often-reductive assessment that overlooks the working-class backgrounds of such people. Where a lack of exposure to sections of society allows old-fashioned beliefs to persist, and football is a relieving escape from the harshness of everyday life, this space has a resounding ability to influence those beliefs.
Exposure to the reality that yes, some players and people are gay and that means nothing about their footballing prowess, will mean these ideas are brought out of the stadiums and onto the streets. Change will be gradual, but if it’s a change that football truly wants to see, it has to come from within.
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