Homosexuality in English football
[1][2] As of May 2022[update], there is only one openly gay male footballer in England's top four men's divisions, Jake Daniels, a forward for Blackpool F.C.
Some, such as Peter Clayton, who chairs the FA's "Homophobia in Football" working group, have argued that, in some clubs, there are barriers to male players "coming out", as they are commercial assets which may be damaged.
In a 2009 survey, most fans said they would like to see homophobia taken out of football, that the FA were not doing enough to tackle the issue and that they would be comfortable to see a player on their team come out of the closet.
In his autobiography, Brian Clough recounts a dressing down he gave Fashanu after hearing rumours that he was going to gay bars: "'Where do you go if you want a loaf of bread?'
With Le Saux preparing to take a free-kick, Fowler repeatedly bent over and pointed his backside in the Chelsea player's direction.
[21] In February 2006, The News of the World claimed that two Premiership footballers were involved in a gay orgy with a figure in the music industry, allegations repeated in The Sun.
[23] After England's exit from the 2006 World Cup, Peter Tatchell complained about the "homophobic smearing" against Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
[24] Ex-Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is on record as stating he would have thrown out of the team a player whom he found to be gay.
Djibril Cissé, partly in jest, had said that he refused to kiss his team-mates after scoring a goal for fear of being thought of as gay.
Public relations mogul Max Clifford said that two major clubs had approached him to help make players portray a "straight" image.
"In October 2006, England international Rio Ferdinand caused controversy by calling BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles a 'faggot' live on air, just days after team-mate Paul Scholes was also in trouble for an alleged homophobic remark about him being gay with a funny hairdo.
[30] In February 2012, the FA released a video showing a discussion on homophobia in English football between former players Ady Williams, John Scales and Brendon Batson.
[32] Tottenham Hotspur have a system in place to allow fans to report any anti-gay chanting and Manchester City are the first Premiership club to have been recognised by pressure group Stonewall as a gay-friendly employer.
Hall and Juliet Jacques) that got recognized by both Prime minister and FA, later transformed into more international Football vs. Homophobia campaign.
[35][36] Stonewall FC, founded by Aslie Pitter after he faced homophobia while playing on existing teams, is a similar initiative.
[citation needed] In 2014, Stonewall teamed up with Paddy Power again, in addition to Metro and the Premier League, to lead the second year on the 'Right Behind Gay Footballers' campaign.
[citation needed] In 2015, Ryman Premier Division team, Dulwich Hamlet, hosted a friendly match against Stonewall FC, the Gay World Champions, on Wednesday 11 February (KO – 7.30pm).
[46][47] Manchester United also abandoned their plan to wear supporting jackets after one player refused to take part,[48] with The Athletic naming Noussair Mazraoui.
[51] The survey showed that most fans expected there would be an openly gay footballer by 2015, and that this would be good for improving the attitude towards homosexuality in the sport.
[52] Heterosexual Swedish international and former Arsenal and West Ham United midfielder Freddie Ljungberg endured questions over his sexuality "due to his bachelor lifestyle and love of musicals and fashion".
In August 2010, England coach Hope Powell was named in 68th place on The Independent newspaper's Pink List of influential lesbian and gay people in the UK.
Immature, wild places, little self-contained states where the normal rules of common decency and acceptable behaviour do not apply.
[61] On the occasion of 2019's World Pride, the Boumerang Foundation published a report aiming to debunk the myth that footballers coming out as gay damages their commercial viability.
[62] The publication, authored by Rayyan Dabbous from New York University, analyzes the media appeal of LGBT figures such as Anderson Cooper and Neil Patrick Harris, whose coming out did not hinder their ability to take on roles perceived as "masculine" such as moderating a presidential debate[63] or portraying playboy Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother.
