Consider these facts. Homosexuality was legalised in the UK 45 years ago and it is estimated that 5-6% of the population is gay. And although they surely exist, there are currently no openly gay professional footballers in England, out of a total of 4,000. Surprised? I certainly was.
While racism seems to grab all the big, shocking headlines, homophobic abuse in football is an issue brushed hurriedly under the carpet by players, managers and footballing authorites.
Consequently, it is upsetting to say that homophobic abuse is rife in football and it is arguably as big a problem as racist abuse.
Justin Fashanu, the first £1 million player, represents the most infamous case for the problems gay players face in coming out. After he revealed his sexuality in October 1990 in an interview with The Sun, Fashanu received abuse not only from the fans, but also from teammates in the dressing room and criticism from former players. Then, in 1998, Fashanu decided to take his own life.
Abuse has also been levelled at players who aren’t gay. Because he pursued seemingly ‘unladdish’ hobbies such as art and antiques, went to university and read The Guardian, Graeme Le Saux was seen as gay by fans. He was even insulted on the pitch by Robbie Fowler at Stamford Bridge in 1999.
And you may remember the incident in 2008 when Sol Campbell was abused by some Tottenham Hotspur fans, who shamefully chanted:
“Sol, Sol, wherever you may be / You’re on the verge of lunacy / And we don’t give a f*** if you’re hanging from a tree / You Judas c*** with HIV.”
These shocking examples show a player is likely to face great hostility if his homosexuality is made public. Publicist Max Clifford has claimed he has advised “two high-profile Premier League players” not to come out because it would wreck their careers.
His argument goes that in football, the fans participate more through their vocal presence than in any other sport, and any homophobic abuse could be psychologically devastating, or at least reduce performance levels on the pitch.
This is connected to the idea that players are viewed by their clubs as commercial assets and declaring homosexuality would reduce their value. He also says it would also disrupt the changing room dynamic and lead to problems of trust with teammates.
Therefore, according to Clifford, the only good time to come out would be towards the end of a player’s career or, better still, following retirement. The classic example came from rugby in December 2009, when Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas announced his homosexuality at the age of 35. A biopic is now being made about him, starring Mickey Rourke.
Someone to buck that trend is 21 year old Anton Hysén, who is only one of two openly gay footballers on the planet (the other is American David Testo). Hysén, who plays in the Swedish fourth division, is a special case because he has come out at an early stage in his career. He insists what goes on in the dressing room does not go beyond friendly banter and that his colleagues accept the situation with little fuss.
However, let’s not delude ourselves. The Swedish fourth division attracts very little media attention and crowds are paltry compared to the Premier League. Players see football as a part-time occupation; Hysén is also a construction worker.
As brave as Hysén’s actions are, many other more high-profile players won’t be convinced that they will be so readily accepted by their football community. Maybe football could learn a lesson from cricket. Tipped by some to be a future England regular, Surrey and England wicketkeeper Steven Davies came out aged 24 in February 2011, with no major consequences.
Despite being the only cricketer to announce his homosexuality during his playing career, Davies has received admirable support from fellow cricketers Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell and Andy Flower. This is the kind of encouraging example where you can almost see the layers of taboo being stripped away, piece by piece.
So the message for football and the FA is simple. Get a grip. So far, the efforts of the FA have been poor; not enough work has been put into preventing discrimination in the first place, and by implication, punishing it consistently.
Preventative measures might include educating youngsters, introducing anti-homophobic messages across a range of media and opening up a more frank dialogue with managers. Punishments must be just as severe as for racist abuse, which would mean banning players and fans for using homophobic language.
Otherwise, homophobic abuse will remain a blemish on the beautiful game for years to come. We live in a more open society now and football must get with the times and escape the clutches of a Dark Age Mentality.