Denis: Respect – it’s a game of two halves

Feb 19 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE Kick It Out campaign, aimed at ridding football of racism, has been running since 1993.

It’s had the occasional twist along the way, with the Respect campaign to get referees accepted as human beings without sight defects.

Respect Diversity, the most recent slogan, implies even more without actually saying so. Well, it didn’t when I saw it used on TV in the break during the Manchester United and Milan game. The sporting prejudice it implied, and the one that apparently dare not speak its name, is homophobia.

Former England player Graham Le Saux, who was taunted for being gay during his career even though he wasn’t, calls it football’s last taboo.

The Football Association appears to have woken up to it at last and has produced a film highlighting the problem, but so far it is only available to watch on the internet. England captain Rio Ferdinand has spoken out against homophobia but the general reaction from players is muted.

FA chairman, Lord Triesman says: “Both The FA and Kick It Out are committed to challenging all forms of discrimination in football and making the game family friendly and it’s our hope that everyone involved across all levels of the game will give the film’s anti-homophobia message their full support.”

Yet the campaign is still being handled softly softly and it has taken an outside group – the Justin Campaign – to name today as Football v Homophobia Day.

The group’s name comes from Justin Fashanu, the first £1m black player and the only prominent professional footballer ever to come out.

Conversely, showbusiness is packed with loveable gay stars.

Stephen Fry was voted the celebrity neighbour everybody would prefer. Graeme Norton is hilarious, John Barrowman a terrific action hero, K D Lang is brilliant and I will always be in love with Jodie Foster.

But there are precious few sporting male icons sharing the showers and communal baths of football and rugby who have been brave enough to declare their proclivity.

Those that have include Australian rugby league player Ian Roberts, rugby union referee Nigel Owens, Donal Og Cusack, an Irish hurling star – and you don’t get any tougher sport than that – and Gareth Thomas, the most capped Welsh rugby union player.

None, however, are still actually playing their sport.

Why is there such a fear of homosexuality among straight men when it comes to hairy-armed sports?

After all, history is littered with homosexual heroes.

The warriors of Ancient Greece accepted that soldiers fought more fiercely with their lovers in the ranks alongside them. The 300 of Sparta fought to the death to keep a whole invading Persian army at bay at Thermopylae.

Alexander the Great, Richard the Lionheart and Lawrence of Arabia are reputed to have had homosexual leanings. And there is no doubt that men with a similar outlook served with distinction in both world wars and continue to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So what is the problem? If they can fight and die, why should a footballer expect abuse if he was to declare himself gay?

The only time homosexuality would bother me is if it was made compulsory.

If Fabio Capello was to discover a natural midfield foil to the talents of Wayne Rooney who helped England win the World Cup this summer, what would it matter if he was gay? It would make me pretty happy, too.