Where were you when you went to your first football match? Or how did you feel when you first went to an Emley or Winterton game? Who were you with? Hearing the chants with vague yet familiar tunes, the mouth watering aromas from the kitchens while you stood at the terraces watching your very first football match. You probably felt like you had somewhere to belong, right?

While many enjoy that sense of belonging, a football crowd can be a hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer people (LGBTQ+ for short).

Brighton fans are often targeted as homophobic insults are a frequent feature of their match day experience. One of the worst cases was just down the road a few years ago. However, all too often, the slurs spewed out by the mass of gammon-faced men from across the line of lifeless stewards are dismissed as “banter”.

You probably don’t need us to list every name hurled at Brighton fans but the atmosphere which the so-called “banter” creates is toxic. Even if it’s directed at the away fans to make them feel unwelcome, it has a negative effect on LGBTQ+ fans on both sides of the security cordon. You are made to feel like an outsider at a place where you are meant to feel like you belong. This is where Stonewall and their Rainbow Laces campaign comes in.

Firstly, we’ll give you a bit of history about Stonewall. The organisation is named after the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York. The riots themselves were in turn named after the Stonewall Inn, which was a gay bar in Greenwich Village that was targeted by the police in a botched raid in the small hours on 28th June 1969. In response to the raid, lesbian and gay New Yorkers took part in demonstrations against the police and their treatment of lesbian and gay people, which would often turn violent. These uprisings are seen as a watershed moment for the ‘gay liberation’ and a forerunner to the colourful and bombastic Pride marches that we see in cities across the globe today.

While Stonewall, these days, aren’t going to organise militant demonstrations, their purpose remains the same: to raise awareness of the maltreatment of LGBTQ+ people and, more positively, promote inclusivity and to celebrate the achievements of LGBTQ+ people in society and the contributions that they have made.

One of their recent campaigns, which is well backed in the upper echelons of the football pyramid, is Rainbow Laces which seeks to make the support for LGBTQ+ people participating in sport visible by wearing laces in the Pride flag colours.

It’s all part of trying to create an environment that is less hostile towards LGBTQ+ people because, perhaps a result of the toxic environment mentioned before, it may be little surprise that very few footballers have come out or very few gay people play football. And why should they if all they’re going to get is abuse?

To buck that trend, recently in the news, you’ve probably come across the name Josh Cavallo. Josh is an Australian footballer who plays for Adelaide United in the A-League. Last month, he came out as gay thus making him the first openly gay top flight footballer in the world and has received a lot of messages of support.

A little closer to home, the UK has the GSFN National League which is an amateur competition for gay football clubs across the UK. Since its inception in 2002, the membership has grown to fifteen full member clubs who play in the league and the cup plus five associate members who just play in the cup while playing in their local FA league.
Playing for our nearest GSFN League team, the Leeds-based Yorkshire Terriers, is still as competitive as playing in any other amateur or semi-pro league. You train at least twice a week and you want to win but in an environment that is inclusive and supportive. Like, you’re not going to get your head ripped off for a little mistake.

These might be steps in the right direction by bringing homophobia to light and the measures LGBTQ+ people have to take to play and enjoy the sport they love but there is still a way to go. For instance, while it’s great that there’s a place for gay footballers to play and be accepted, the fact that there has to be a separate football league is not a solution for inclusivity in the sport. Also, while Josh Cavallo is brave to have come out and has received a lot of notions of support, there are still the outspoken few who will make their voices heard as well as the fear he has of potentially playing in Qatar where homosexual acts are punishable by death. Furthermore, though campaigns like Rainbow Laces are fantastic for raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues, the FA needs to step up and create an all-year round project so that issues around inclusivity do not fade in and out of the narrative.

So, what can we all do? For integration and acceptance, there needs to be “allies” (straight people who actively support LGBTQ+ inclusion) and education to change the current attitudes. This is something we whole-heartedly support and strive for here at Emley AFC with the full backing of the players, coaches, backroom staff and the committee.

Emley AFC captain Jamie Price said, “With me being a primary school teacher, we promote and celebrate inclusive sport and life for all and it’s really important that we demonstrate these through our actions as well as our words. It will be a real honour to represent the club in supporting this campaign. The whole group and club are fully behind it.”

For the LGBTQ+ community, having an ally to vocally support LGBTQ+ people on their struggles is just as important as someone in the community standing up for themselves. It sends a powerful message to all that they have someone in their corner and gives someone a voice who may not be able to speak up for themselves. It’s up to you whether you are going to be that person.

Whether homophobia is intended as “banter” or jibes at away fans, these antiquated attitudes create a hostile environment that excludes people from a place where you are supposed to belong. Challenging these attitudes and ally-ship is one step people can take with the work of Stonewall and campaigns like Rainbow Laces to remind people who need reminding that football is a sport for all.

For more information, visit stonewall.org.uk.

This article was first published in the Winterton Rangers programme (free online) on 27th November 2021