Important: Reporting homophobic chanting

[Gus is god]

Perhaps Bozza could add a poll to see how many are offended and how many give a toss

Im neither im not offended by it, but i also think the Kick it out campaign needs to follow all levels, it is homophobic abuse which is illegal yet it seems to be acceptable at a football ground, i just think we need to cover all bases and not just focus on ones that are apparently deemed worst than others. Words effect people in different ways, im not effected by homophobic abuse, but there are words that get me extremely upset, so if people are effected by the homophobic abuse then they have a right to be protected to it, and not told not to come to the ground if they dont like.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Originally Posted by Insider

However, some of the more graphic, vile and abusive chants the club and police can act upon, there are no grey areas with the more explicit chants, and any supporter who has an issue with this would be strongly advised to report it direct to the club. This type of behaviour is not tolerated by the club, and we do not want it at the Amex, but it isn't easy to deal with. Firstly we have to prove it, and be 100 per cent certain of the culprits before acting. Working with the club, Sussex Police have managed to successfully prosecute fans of two clubs (two Norwich fans at Withdean, and a home fan when Albion last played at Hull City) but it isn't easy. Portsmouth also acted against Spurs fans who subjected Sol Campbell to homophobic abuse at Fratton Park, using video evidence.





At last some sense. The general chants are just banter but the vile gesturing and disgusting stuff spouted by individual away fans should be punished. I don't care if half the away fans get chucked out.

 

[Thinker]

I agree. I was expecting a shout of "Let's fight the homophobia rampant in our game." and not a "Think long and hard as to whether you felt insulted by considering the possible expense to the Albion."

Yes agree...really disappointed but not too surprised.

 

[Tomnorthi]

Who cares. Its banter.
None of us take it seriously. We have a laugh with it, its all you can do really.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Whether anything happens or not, I think it is good and high time this situation got the attention it warranted and Buzzer nailed it on the head.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Once again the discussion has got back to the more inoffensive chants which 99% of people don't find offensive such as Does your boyfriend know you're here, but that isn't the situation that is being discussed.
There have been far more obscene chants heard recently so where do you draw the line? 'We can see you sucking cock' was heard at Leicester.

 

[Thinker]

I've been alerted to the fact that a large number of Albion fans, possibly prompted by a thread on NSC, reported West Ham fans to the FA and the 'Kick it Out' campaign. Additionally there may be the intention to do likewise for each game a group of opposing fans chants "does your boyfriend know you're here" and the like.

A few things about this...

- Both the FA and 'Kick it Out' have a duty to fully investigate each and every reported incident, which means...
- A number of Albion officials have to spend a large amount of time investigating and reporting back.
- Any report made about opposing fans at the Amex could result in action against the Albion, not the opposing club, as the Albion are in charge of crowd control at the Amex.
- When reports involve hundreds, if not thousands of fans singing there is very little chance of any action being possible.

So, I urge people to think long and hard about pursuing this campaign as...

a) there is slim chance of any meaningful action, yet

b) the Albion could expend significant manpower being duty bound to investigate and report back on each incident reported


This is not to say, of course, that any serious incidents that occur should not be reported - they absolutely should.

For anyone wondering, the club have not put me up to making this post, but I have told them I am making it having heard about the number of hours that club staff have effectively wasted this week. That time could be better spent serving the Albion support in many ways.

There needs to be action against the club.they are not and never have taken the issue seriously.the police have specifically requested that ALL incidents are reported.the albion are not up to speed on their reaction to this-they need to be or will have to face sanction.is a community club after all,isnt it...?

 

[Thinker]

I think that is the reality of the situation.

What has changed in the last couple of weeks, why is this an issue now when its been going on since I've been going to football (mid eighties)...and probably before?

As used to be said about racism in football...And the difference is that now it can all be done via cctv evidence/early morning raids as with the sol campbell case...

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

Once again the discussion has got back to the more inoffensive chants which 99% of people don't find offensive such as Does your boyfriend know you're here, but that isn't the situation that is being discussed.
There have been far more obscene chants heard recently so where do you draw the line? 'We can see you sucking cock' was heard at Leicester.

Then a complaint should have been made to either, Leicester City FC or The FA

 

[Bwian]

Who cares. Its banter.
None of us take it seriously. We have a laugh with it, its all you can do really.

I'm not offended by the chants. I am offended by the f***ing knuckle draggers who think it's ok to be living in the dark ages. Maybe Albion fans should start singing about blacks and Asians because, to us, it's all a bit of a laugh? How about we start offending the disabled? That'd be dead funny.

I'm not suggesting we do any of the above but would it be any different? After all, it's only a bit of fun.

No wonder the government don't allow alcohol to be consumed within sight of the pitch when we're amongst Neanderthals.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Can I just point out that there's a big difference between calling west country/welsh club fans sheep shaggers and homophobic abuse. One is in jest, no one actually believes they shag sheep, the other suggest that being gay is a 'bad' thing deserving of ridicule.

 

[wellquickwoody]

I'm not offended by the chants. I am offended by the f***ing knuckle draggers

Right, lets turn this around a bit.

I am offended that you think stupid people from a poor background, whose parents did not see fit to teach them right from wrong, whose parents took no interest in their school reports, who found themselves at the bottom of the class in a dead end job, who then had to hang around with other people like themselves should have to put up with comments like this. It's not their fault that life has dealt them a losing hand, and it's not right that you should call them knuckle draggers.

It is so easy to get offended isn't it? Perhaps we should ban songs about fat people, or ban comedians taking the p88s out of redheads? I know, let's ban everything!

 

[SurreySeagulls]

For me it is a storm in a tea cup. I like something I heard from John Barnes on the radio discussing the JT situation. IF JT is proved as saying what people say then throw the book at him but he would never consider him to be a racist. This hit a point here that we all say things and to some people it would be offensive but to others it is not. I am trying not demean the seriousness of homophobic abuse as any abuse is not right but it should be taken in the context of how it was said. The problem as I see it an I agree with Insider that it appears to be a tit for tat because of the Craig Bellamy issue. Anyway off to Watford tomorrow to sing "we're gonna nick your sweets and lollipops"

 

[Tooting Gull]

Can I just point out that there's a big difference between calling west country/welsh club fans sheep shaggers and homophobic abuse. One is in jest, no one actually believes they shag sheep, the other suggest that being gay is a 'bad' thing deserving of ridicule.

Is that right - they DON'T shag sheep?

 

[Brovion]

Once again the discussion has got back to the more inoffensive chants which 99% of people don't find offensive such as Does your boyfriend know you're here, but that isn't the situation that is being discussed.
There have been far more obscene chants heard recently so where do you draw the line? 'We can see you sucking cock' was heard at Leicester.

But it's the same argument. In terms of homophobic content "does your boyfriend know you're here" is identical to "we can see you sucking cock". If you accept "boyfriend" then your only objection to the other one is that it is far more obscene. By all means protest if you feel it's grossly inappropriate to mention oral sex at a football match, but now we're getting away from homophobia as such and onto a wider topic of public decency.

 

[portlock seagull]

I think part of the issue here, like football itself, is the inconsistency the club and it’s employees demonstrates each week with respect to other crowd “incidents”. With regards to Homophobic chanting, whether or not you deem it offensive, this appears to be a pre-empt my the club to head off complaints because they’re perceived as time-consuming and laborious. Yet we all know of incidents where stewards act like gorillas for someone who stood up, was deemed drunk after 1 pint, stuck their fingers up (in response, ironically, to a does your boyfriend know you’re here” chant) etc etc. I myself (the shame, I know) have been warned when I once shouted “tosser” at an opposing defender whilst hundreds of others chanted “wan***” at the same time about 3 rows behind me without anyone so much as having a word! And then there was the time that a still employed steward at Withdean threatened not to let me in because with 2 mins to go before KO I had the gall to challenge why had they only opened 2 turnstiles instead of the usual 8 and a queue was halfway down tongdean rd as a consequence and we’d all been patiently waiting in said queue for 25mins by then and just wanted to get in to see the match we’d paid 25 quid for to sit in the open elements for a 3rd tier game and the team was playing abysmally at the time!!

So, if the club can take such “incidents” as the above so seriously it’s employees have thought it necessary to threaten loyal fans with 3 year bans for such trivialities....then they can bloody well suck it up with respect to genuine complaints about a FAR more serious issue in my mind. Either that, or stop the double standards Albion. Actually, that goes for football full stop. Things have to get a lot worse before they get better sometime. It’s usually called progress though

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

People have to decide whether homophobic chanting is abuse or not. Firstly it is not intended as a compliment, but as an insult, it is not directed at Girlfriends , are you being serious ?, thirdly the abuse being quoted is very much on the low scale as to what is said/chanted , fourthly it is a hate crime, whether intended or not, it is legally classified as a hate crime. Like it or not you would not be able to say it anywhere else in the country in the 21st century except in a football stadium or near a football stadium and racial and religious abuse on this scale was stamped out years ago so its double standards but large amounts of BHAFC fans seem to think it is " a laugh " and don't want to do anything about it, and it is an inconvenience to the club, at least, thats the way it is coming across, to do anything about it also. Anyway I think the debate is very healthy and much needed.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Is that right - they DON'T shag sheep?

The Laughing Bluebird once told me that this sort of thing only went on up in the valleys. Cardiff residents don't.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Who gives a f*** what they say, get a life seriously

exactly , man up i say, lets get a grip on this one.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Its got nothing to do with being a Man or the need to man up. Being insulted and not giving a toss does not make you a hard man or a tough guy. It makes you a bit of an idiot really, sorry.