Gay footballers promote tolerance in Hampshire

The fact that it made the headlines in the UK says a lot.

We don’t have any gay footballers of our own – not ones who are out anyway.

In fact, former Saints player Justin Fashanu – the first black player to command a £1m transfer fee – was the first, and so far only, prominent British player to come out as gay.

His career is generally thought to have suffered and he became a target of abuse from fans. He committed suicide in 1998, aged 37.

Perhaps it’s unsurprising that others haven’t followed his lead.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, a former friend of Fashanu, recently spoke out at a conference organised by the pro-diversity and equality in football campaign Kick it Out about the need for action by the Football Association.

He said that the FA’s policies need to be “translated into stronger and more visible initiatives to make the beautiful game welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people”.

He added: “The FA should impose big fines and match suspensions on players, managers and other football staff who use anti-gay insults…but the real solution is public education to change hearts and minds.”

Recently, Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, said that while the organisation will offer total support to any gay player who wants to reveal his sexuality, anyone who did so would be “very brave”.

But while those who run the FA may be questioning what to do about homophobia in the sport, gay men up and down the country are getting on and playing the game.

Among them are the members of Bournemouth and Hampshire Gay Football Club. The club, which is gay and gay-friendly, has been going for around six years.

It was part of the national gay football league, Gay Football Supporters’ Network, but due to the cost of competing in the national league they have now formed a southern league of their own.

Glen Smith, the club treasurer, has been playing with Bournemouth and Hampshire GFC for around three-and-ahalf years. His reason for being in the club is, he explains, simply that he wants to play football.

“I think the idea behind the club is a lot of our team wouldn’t be playing football otherwise.

They wouldn’t want to join a straight team because they’d feel intimidated – you get the whole lad thing. People don’t realise that we just like football and we want to play football. That’s it really!”

Club chairman Martin Hastings says that the banter and macho, hightestosterone atmosphere of football can make it difficult for gay people to play in a straight team.

“I think now, if I was on a straight team, I’d be more confident to come out and say that I’m gay,” says the 23-year-old.

“When I was in my teens, it was quite daunting, especially because the people you are playing with are your friends. It’s hard enough to come out to one person, let alone a whole team. You think ‘Are people going to be comfortable with me in the changing room?’”

“And all straight men think they’re God’s gift as soon as there’s a gay man around!” laughs Glen.

The team play straight and gay clubs and have found that people react in different ways when they learn that they are a largely gay team.

“When people hear you play for a gay team they say ‘Do you wear pink?’ or ‘Do you play against women?’” says Martin.

“So many people have said after they’ve played us: ‘Oh, you’re good – we thought you’d be rubbish’,”

adds Glen.

The men hope having gay and g ay - f r i e n d ly teams will help break down some of the homophobia in football, but they acknowledge that segregation could be a problem. “A lot of the gay teams segregate themselves and only play other teams in the gay league,” says Martin.

“We play straight teams too – they don’t even always know that we’re gay. I think that’s the way to tackle homophobia. I don’t think only playing gay teams helps football to progress.”

“At least having a gay team and a gay league shows that gay people do care about football,” Glen adds. “But I’d like the gay league to eventually be fully integrated.”

Martin and Glen agree that for some teams in the national gay league, the social aspect is as, if not more, important than the game. But for them, football comes first. They train regularly in Southampton and play matches across the south in the mini-league they have formed. This includes straight teams as well as gay-friendly ones.

The men agree it would be good if there were some prominent gay role models in football but believe it is a particularly hard sport to come out in.

“When you think of football fans, there’s a lot of passion within the sport. If you compare that to, say, cricket or golf, they’ve got totally different audiences,” says Martin. “I think it would help if someone came out but I think it’s down to them.”

“In the past, it’s ruined people,” adds Glen.

“Why would anyone want that thrust upon them?”

So has there been progress in kicking homophobia out of football? The fact most of the team didn’t want to be interviewed or photographed would suggest that there is still a long way to go.

And one member of the team isn’t comfortable playing matches, so he only trains with the team in private.

But it’s fair to say progress is being made. “The number of gay and gay-friendly clubs has doubled in the last five years,” says Martin. “In gay football there has been a lot of progress. I hope eventually what’s going on at the grass roots level will make a difference in professional football.”

And whatever impact it has, it’s giving people the chance to play the game now. “It’s a way for people to play football if they feel like they can’t elsewhere.

We welcome everyone – women, straight players, anyone who wants to play football,” says Glen.

“We’re just like any other team,” adds Martin.

“If you saw us on the pitch you wouldn’t know anything about our sexuality.”

• Bournemouth and Hampshire GFC: gfcbournemouth.co.uk. Gay Football Supporters’ Network, visit gfsnleague.co.uk.

Where are all our gay sports stars?

WHILE there are openly gay and lesbian sports people in fields other than football, the list is still not a long one.

In February Britain’s first openly gay cricket player, Steven Davies hit the headlines when he came out. The 24-year-old England wicketkeeper, who was part of the victorious Ashes squad, came out to friends and family five years ago. He said that he hopes that his coming out publicly might help other people deal with their own sexuality.

In 2009, Wales’ most capped rugby player and former British and Irish Lions player Gareth Thomas was praised by gay activists for coming out.

BBC sports presenter and champion jockey Clare Balding entered into a civil partnership in 2006.

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Martina Navratilova, right, came out in 1981.

Before she retired in 2006 she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, set a record by winning 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and also won ten Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. In 2005 she said: “I’m lucky that I was in an individual sport, because in a team sport being gay can really get in the way, even for women.”