​We Spoke to Premier League LGBT Fan Groups About Changing Attitudes in Soccer

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports UK.

In April 2013, the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters' Club (BHASC) teamed up with the Gay Football Supporters' Network to produce a detailed report on homophobia at their games. It made for depressing reading. After arduous documentation over the course of the 2012/13 season, the BHASC revealed that Brighton fans had been subjected to homophobic abuse by 72% of opponents they had faced over the course of the campaign – including in 70% of away games and at least 57% of all matches played. This ranged from individual slurs to mass chanting, intimidation, and occasional attacks.

Brighton are a unique case: the town's association with the gay community has been a source of vitriol and mockery from rival fans for decades. Nonetheless, what made the report so depressing was the sheer number of supporters – far beyond Brighton's traditional rivals – who were willing to engage in homophobic chanting on matchday. The report noted every single case in meticulous detail, with fans from several different divisions involved.

Some fixtures were especially bad. League matches against Hull, Burnley, Leicester, Huddersfield, Bolton and Crystal Palace were all mentioned, to name but a few. Likewise, Brighton's high-profile FA Cup fixture with Arsenal in January 2013 was marred by persistent homophobic chanting. This gained significant coverage – even if it was far from the worst abuse heard at the Amex that season – and was a source of major embarrassment to a Premier League club with a much-publicised equality and diversity scheme.

Just over a month later, in February 2013, the Gay Gooners were recognised as Arsenal's official LGBT supporters' group. They became the first such official organisation in the Premier League.

This wasn't a knee-jerk response to reports of homophobic chanting at the Brighton game – far from it. The Gay Gooners had existed informally for a number of years, with members attending games together and meeting in a social capacity long before 2013. Nonetheless, after the Brighton game, the need for an official LGBT supporters' group became clear. Visibility for LGBT fans – a reminder that supporters of all different sexual orientations were present on matchday – was one of the first priorities.

When I spoke to the current chair of the Gay Gooners, Dave Raval, he made it clear that there were significant difficulties in the first few months after the group gained official recognition. "We've been on the London Pride parade for the last three years – 2013, 2014 and 2015. The first year, Arsenal tweeted something like: 'Good luck to the Gay Gooners on Gay Pride tomorrow' and that got a lot of hostile tweets, it has to be said."

Likewise, despite encouragement and understanding from the majority of fans, a vocal minority objected to the Gay Gooners getting their own banner at the Emirates. This was no different to the treatment given to other supporters' groups: regional fan clubs, overseas clubs and so on. Nonetheless, many failed to see why the group needed to be visibly represented at the ground.

Dave has a concise answer to that. "We're just trying to normalise our presence within football culture. We're people, we're football fans, we exist and there are lots of us."

More than anything, this is the fundamental point of visibility for LGBT supporters. Once people are made to recognise that they stand shoulder to shoulder with fans of differing sexualities on the terraces – and always have done – it is hoped that they will think twice before discriminating against them. The Gay Gooners' banner is a permanent fixture at the Emirates to this day, and the evidence seems to suggest it's having a positive effect.

At Emirates Stadium with work. Glad to see a banner for Arsenal's LGBTQ Fans Group proudly on display! @gaygooners pic.twitter.com/06iPTffmrL
— Ali Mac (@alimac30) June 10, 2015

When Arsenal drew Brighton in the FA Cup once more in January 2015, it would have been understandable if members of the group had felt disinclined to attend the game. Instead, they were determined not to see a repeat of 2013. Dave told me: "When we saw we had the same fixture again in 2015, we said: 'Well, we want to try to stop [the homophobic behaviour]. We want to be role models.'

"In the previous home programme, the club wrote something like: 'Good luck at Brighton, get behind the team, but we won't accept any homophobic abuse.' They then sent an email to everyone who'd bought a ticket, saying the same thing. They talked about it on the fan coaches going down there. In the meantime, we'd been talking with both the Sussex police and the stewards from the home club and saying: 'If anyone does it, stop it and stamp it out straight away.'

"And what happened? I think two or three people individually started saying things and it got stopped by the crowd around them or the stewards immediately, and that's it. We went from 2013 with thousands of Arsenal fans singing in unison to 2015 when practically no-one did.

"That's a massive change, and proves that we can do things."

As anecdotal evidence goes, the contrast of the two Brighton games is a cause for cautious optimism. It's hard not to feel that the visibility of the Gay Gooners – the cumulative effect of getting their name out, getting the club's support, and displaying their banner with pride – has been as important as anything else. However, there's much more to suggest that attitudes in football are changing for the better.

In the 1970s, '80s and '90s, virulent homophobia was a staple of many football grounds. It should be remembered that Justin Fashanu – to date, the top tier's only "out" male footballer – was hounded by fans, managers and players alike after publicly revealing his sexuality in 1990. There is a reason that no player has come out since. Fashanu's persecution – and later, suicide – is deeply imprinted on the collective consciousness of English football.

Today, things are different. While the Gay Gooners had a couple of hundred members back in 2013, Dave tells me that they currently number almost 500. Their social events are well attended, the club support them in everything from publicity to active campaigning, and they apparently have regular dialogue with Arsenal's directors. Likewise, when it comes to giving LGBT fan groups official recognition, other clubs have followed Arsenal's lead.

Norwich now have the Proud Canaries. Tottenham have the Proud Lilywhites. Manchester City have the Canal Street Blues. These are three of the more established groups – all were formed in early 2014 – but others are gradually emerging throughout the Football League. West Ham's Pride of Irons and Charlton's Proud Valiants have gained official recognition more recently.

Speaking to Chris Paouros, co-chair of the Proud Lilywhites, it's clear that the proliferation of LGBT supporters' groups is massively encouraging to those currently trying to fight homophobia in the game. Much like their North London rivals, it seems significant progress has been made at Tottenham in the last few years. When I ask whether attitudes have improved since the official launch of the Proud Lilywhites, Chris tells me: "I can't give you any facts and figures but, anecdotally, absolutely.

"When our flag first went up, there was some pushback. There was a bit of a backlash. It was dressed up in: 'Why do they get a flag and not anybody else? Why are they a special interest group and not anybody else?' The club, quite rightly, said: 'Anyone can open a members' group and anyone can bring in a flag.'

"They played it with a very straight bat, which is right. We don't want to be seen as a special interest group. The thing is, when you have a set of supporters who are discriminated against, traditionally, in football, you organise around discrimination in order to counteract it.

"Still, I genuinely think in the last two years we've made a difference. It's not just us: the world has changed as well. Lots of things have come together at the same time. There are so many LGBT supporters' groups now."

The Proud Lilywhites have been proactive in campaigning against bigotry in football, working alongside Football v Homophobia and the club itself to help get an anti-discrimination message across to the fans. Before Spurs' away trip to Manchester City this February, players from both sides warmed up in Football v Homophobia training tops. The fact that the two clubs provided the logistical support to make that happen is hugely heartening. Combined with conspicuous advertising for the campaign around the Etihad, the importance of the gesture can't be overestimated.

The lads warming up at the Etihad in FvH tshirts as part of our support of @FvHtweets during February. #COYS pic.twitter.com/1B4T8OfwDf
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 14, 2016

Chris tells me: "In a big game like that, with a huge amount of exposure, that's a great thing to do in terms of visibility. With the popularity of the Premier League across the globe, you want to say to the rest of the world: 'Homophobia is not acceptable in the English Premier League'.

"There are so many countries out there with heinous laws around homosexuality and – though I'm not saying we're trying to solve the world's problems – it makes a huge difference if you're somewhere where homosexuality is illegal, you're a young gay man or lesbian, and your idols are wearing these things.

"Suddenly, the people around you might think differently about what it means to be LGBT."

Still, Chris makes it clear that the Proud Lilywhites aren't trying to revolutionise football. Really, their message seems pretty simple. "I'm not interested in getting anybody thrown out of a football match, I'm not interested in criminalising anybody," Chris says.

"However, you have to realise what is and isn't acceptable. It's not about offending somebody. It's not about me being offended. You have to recognise the impact of the things that you're saying, you have to recognise that you're excluding people from something – saying to somebody that they're not welcome at football.

"What we're saying is: 'If you're a Spurs fan, you're welcome here regardless of your sexuality'. That's what having our flag up at the ground is all about."

Despite the positive developments of the last few years, there's still a long way to go for LGBT fans. While the Gay Gooners, Proud Lilywhites and the rest seem well supported and in a position to thrive, it should be noted that only a small minority of the 92 clubs in the Premier League and Football League have officially recognised LGBT supporters' groups. Talking to Di Cunningham, organiser of the Proud Canaries, it's clear that existing groups feel more needs to be done.

Di stresses that attitudes do seem to be improving – Norwich fans would be hard pressed to ignore LGBT discrimination, what with Justin Fashanu's legendary status at the club – but she feels that other teams need to step up to the plate. "The groups didn't cost anything, really. There's been no investment outside of the clubs," she says.

"We've still got some way to go. There are a number of groups, but not all in the Premier League. Manchester United haven't got a group, for instance. We need things to happen everywhere."

In essence, it all comes back to visibility. When every club has an LGBT supporters' group, sexuality will no longer be a stick with which to beat rival fans. With the realisation that every fanbase comprises LGBT supporters comes acceptance of that fact. Accordingly, an entrenched form of discrimination is completely undermined.

Whatever your sexual identity, that can only be a good thing for football.

@W_F_Magee