You may have read my article a while back about Racism within English football. An example of what I was talking about raised its ugly head in a recent Baltimore Oriole game and obviously is a big problem within the Italian soccer scene.
However, another taboo in Football is the homophobia that exists. This upcoming Saturday though, in Manchester England a conference will be co-held by two groups FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) and ’football v Homophobia’. It will include fans from all around Europe and will focus homophobia and transphobia in the game. I am encouraged that this might just be a serious attempt to address the issue because it is taking place in England, at the home city of two of the biggest teams in the Premier League on a day when eyes all across the world will be focused on England. The FA is celebrating it’s 150th anniversary, the Football League will kick off for the 125th time and of course the first Premier League games of a new and exciting season takes place.
The issue has long been in the background and the most famous examples of this are of course the Justin Fashanu tragedy but also the Graeme LeSaux incidents. Taking the latter one first Graeme Le Saux was always the subject of homosexual chants and rumors, despite being married with two children. Many of you, I am sure, remember the incident between him and Robbie Fowler who in a game between Liverpool (Fowler) and Chelsea (LeSaux) when Fowler would repeatedly bend over and point his backside toward LeSaux, delaying the Chelsea mans taking of a free kick. Seen as a joke by Fowler it offended LeSaux. It was criticized at the time but not as much as if LeSaux was black and Fowler had been directing monkey noises or movements at him.
Groups like Stonewall and the Justin Campaign are bringing attention to the problem and want the sport to take more decisive action on homophobic abuse. The Gay Football Supporters Network was formed in 1989 and promotes the support and participation of gay men and women in football, but it continues to be an issue that doesn’t take a backseat to racism as it isn’t even currently in the same car, that despite already claiming a life.
Justin Fashanu
Courtesy: BBC
His move to Forest saw him appear for only one season before being loaned out and then eventually moved on to rivals, County. He also sustained a knee injury which didn’t help and in the last half of the 1980’s would move from County to Brighton, LA, Edmonton, Manchester City and West Ham as he desperately tried to regain his form. At our beloved City he only made two substitute appearances before playing his last game for City on this day in 1989. In the 1990’s he was hitting the front page of newspapers more often than the back and as a result, before retiring as a pScotland, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia!
After his playing layer in 1997, he would pull on the shirt of another thirteen sides, including teams in Canada, career he moved back to the USA and Ellicott City, Maryland. There he would coach the second division side, Maryland Mania. In March of 1998 he was accused of sexual assault. Fashanu was questioned and released before the media played their final part in the Fashanu saga. It was reported that the police had later arrived with a warrant to arrest him. However this was untrue as Fashanu had already left the country and headed back to England.
The Morning of May 3rd that year Fashanus body was found hanged in a lock up garage. He had left a suicide note which read that he had already been presumed guilty and did not want to give any more embarrassment to friends and family. Four months later and inquest established there had been no arrest warrant and in fact due to a lack of evidence the case was no longer being pursued.
Courtesy: Gay News Network
You can probably count on one hand exactly how many openly gay sports professionals there are currently in the various professional games out there with most electing to ‘come out’ after their retirements.
This conference is of course 15 years too late for Justin Fashanu but hopefully it is a sign that with changing times comes changing attitudes. Every big change starts with one step and Manchester on Saturday could be that one step
