BITTER & TWISTED HOMOPHOBIA ARTICLE

Those of you blessed with one of those swanky new digital tellies may just have found the time to tune away from the permanent loop that is Sky Sports News the night before our visit to Selhurst. Had you done so your eyes might have been fortunate to rest upon the lithe & lovely figure of Amal Fashanu, niece of Justin Fashanu, on BBC3. I have a hazy recollection of a young man hobbling about town in the mid 80s, his best playing days behind him. Sixteen appearances & two goals in two years being scant return on a fee of £115,000.

The more observant amongst you may already have spotted a clue as to the public face of my own sexuality in my description of Fash’s niece. Apologies those who may be offended by my not very PC approach but we have all read enough in the way of bleeding heart woolly liberal articles on vaguely football related subjects by those who have never been to a game in their lives. Being a ‘gentleman’ of advancing years, homosexuality was a sniggering offence in my youth. It was represented by the British love of the pantomime effeminacy of Larry Grayson. It was certainly not an issue extending to the personal lives of football stars from Berwick Rangers to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Then came Justin Fashanu. A classic case of early promise unfulfilled with not a little help from Old Big ‘Ead himself. There are no prizes for guessing Brian Clough’s attitude to any deviation from the norm & Fashanu was dressed down in no uncertain terms at the City Ground for visiting ‘bloody poof’s bars’. Move on a few years & Justin’s tragic end has left a legacy, as much for it’s impact on homophobia in football culture as for the PR implications of handling a public self-revelation.

The documentary was notable not for what it said directly about the issue of gay footballers but more for who was prepared to say anything at all even to an immediately attractive young woman. The Millwall squad were, with one or two more mature exceptions, remarkably shy. No surprise then that Max Clifford suggested a hard man type in the twilight of his career might be the most appropriate candidate to stick his head above the parapet. Step forward Joey Barton declaring his love for a gay uncle. It was worth the general elusiveness of most of the rest of the show for this interview alone.

Amal’s relationship with her Crazy Gang father John, whilst obviously very moving, took the overall debate forward in so far as it showed how far society’s attitude to homosexuality has moved in the last 20 years. I am loath to condone John’s public disowning of his brother but the situation can also be viewed through the prism of the prehistoric attitudes toward

homosexuality prevailing at the time.

But now where are we? If there is one team in the whole country that might be standing up for equality in their swanky new ‘community’ stadium it is surely the mighty Brighton & Hove Albion. How many in a Brighton crowd of 20,000 have had a same sex experience? Never mind being a goal up with 5 minutes to play, this is undoubtedly the quintessential squeaky bum moment.

Where do you stand on the line between banter & abuse? I won’t pontificate on my own particular views just share a short anecdote. Returning from the precious point required at Rotherham on the final day of the season back in….well it was a few years back…our coaches crossed paths on the motorway with those of Millwall. Holding hands & blowing kisses to coach loads of mooning South Londoners was safely amusing when separated by a lane on the M1. Not quite such a laugh in the service station where our ciabattas & cappuccinos were noisily disturbed by cat calls relating to our real or imagined sexual proclivities. The immediate tension was lifted by the simple comment from the Brighton end ‘they’re just jealous of our cosmopolitan city.’

For those of you not in the know the Justin Campaign is run from an office in where else but Brighton? The Justins Allstars field a predominantly indoor pick up team with an ever changing line up. Brighton also has its very own gay friendly 11 a side team, The Brighton Bandits, who play in the GFSN (Gay Football Supporters Network) league. I am delighted also to report that in common with the soaraway Seagulls they topped League 2 last season & are now dining at the top table of national gay football.

Alan Duffy, Director of Communications at the Justin Campaign, pointed out to me that the recent arrests of Southampton supporters & cautioning of a Barnsley fan following matches at the Falmex are signs of genuine progress. The campaign has been working behind the scenes with the FA, the Albion & what he describes as the club’s significant gay fanbase. The time is nearly upon us where anti-homophobic days are as uncontentious as the t-shirts & badges of the Kick It Out campaign. (And I refuse to mention John Terry or Louis Suarez at this point.)

So here’s a few of my own suggestions to raise the campaign profile: Brighton to adopt the girlies’ pink & white stripes as an away kit; said pink & white kit to be available in beer gut sizes; Gully’s Girls to give way to Gully’s Guys; Gully to have a male partner. Your ideas on a postcard please to TSLR Towers at the usual address.