A CAMPAIGN to attract more gay football fans into stadiums has been launched amid frustration about the lack of professional players to have come out.
Match-day programmes across the country will today contain a welcome message to all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) supporters as the first games of the Scottish season get under way.
The advert, run in conjunction with the Scottish Football Association, will say: “Plays for the other team ... supports yours”.
To date, English forward Justin Fashanu, who played for Nottingham Forest and Airdrie, remains the highest-profile UK football star to state publicly that he was gay.
Former Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger became the most prominent modern footballer to come out, announcing through a German newspaper in 2014 that he was gay. Hitzlsperger said he wanted “to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals” as he explained why he was eager to talk about his sexuality in a newspaper interview.
“We don’t yet have any openly LGBTI professional players in the men’s professional game in Scotland but we know there are plenty of LGBTI fans, so we want to put out the welcome mat and encourage fans to help remove any barriers, so that footballing talent are welcome to come out in future,” said Scott Cuthbertson, development manager for the Equality Network.
“From our anecdotal evidence, LGBTI people can be really put off if they hear derogatory comments directed at officials and players so the key thing is creating an environment where people are welcome, and that they know their clubs are supportive and will challenge negative behaviour.”
To combat homophobia, Mr Cuthbertson said clubs should promote LGBTI role models on their social media channels, as well as training stewards to react when they hear anti-gay comments in the stadium.
A gay-friendly Aberdeen FC supporters club, Proud Dons, was launched in March last year by Rev Scott Rennie, of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen, who is the Kirk’s first openly gay minister. The club is set to host its inaugural event next month.
Last season Ross County invited a LGBT youth group to a home match in a bid to introduce more members of the the gay community to the club.
“Aberdeen Football Club wanted to reach out to the local LGBT community in the North East, and with the help of the club’s community trust, we set up Proud Dons, Scottish football’s first LGBT fan group,” said Rev Rennie of the origins of the group.
Many SPFL clubs have said they are actively pursuing policies to change attitudes on the terraces and stamp out homophobic abuse.
A spokesman for Rangers said: “Everyone is welcome at Ibrox Stadium regardless of race, colour, religion or gender.
“Rangers is an all-inclusive club and treats everyone with equal respect.”
The campaign is the first of its kind in Scotland. A study by the Equality Network launched in 2012 showed that 57 per cent of LGBT people would be more likely to participate in sport if it was more LGBT friendly.
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