Britains gay footballers

[Pondicherry]

Good programme - if you were looking for a publicity vehicle for Amal Fashanu. Obviously her fashion career is failing and she wanted topic to kick start her media career. Most of this was stage managed sentimentality. How is it possible for me to know more about how John's dislike of Justin than she did?

Also - i find it hard to believe that substitutes in the Swedish fourth division are actually paid to play.

 

[Farehamseagull]

The presenter is a very beautiful woman and did a great job there, would like to see more of her. Certainly the best thing on BBC3 for a long time.

Really good show that. Mcgovern came across as a complete berk but is symbolic of a generation of ignorant British football types including Keys and Gray etc.

John Fashanu was quite interesting, he looked quite confused about his feelings I thought. He is obviously a very proud, macho man and didnt seem to want to admit being wrong but by the end admitted he did regret his actions.

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

What we need is for one of the female contributors on NSC to come on here and say the presenter is hot!

Interesting programme though, surprised they didn't mention Justin playing for Brighton when they filmed at the Amex.

Indeed, was also surprised as that she didn't report that he played for Brighton. It was either his autobiography or in the media at the time he said while at Brighton, it was the happiest time of his playing career


Sent by Derek Achora via the spirit world.

 

[oldalbiongirl]

What we need is for one of the female contributors on NSC to come on here and say the presenter is hot!

Interesting programme though, surprised they didn't mention Justin playing for Brighton when they filmed at the Amex.

No but the Swedish footballer was ...

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

Ok, what is it the FA can proactive and practically do about the issue? The program seemed intent on trying to make the FA squirm but was not offering up the solution. Paradoxically when Ameche emphasised that most of the top brass FA were white was he not thereby implying that perhaps the black population are more liberal minded and therefore it was almost a form of racism based on his assumption.

The 'grass roots' need role models. I'm not saying there's an easy solution but focusing on the 'grass roots' smells of copout.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Good programme - if you were looking for a publicity vehicle for Amal Fashanu. Obviously her fashion career is failing and she wanted topic to kick start her media career. Most of this was stage managed sentimentality. How is it possible for me to know more about how John's dislike of Justin than she did?

I thought it was a publicity vehicle for the presenter for about the first five minutes. But ended up not thinking that. And I don't see how anyone can dismiss as 'stage managed sentimentality' the scene where her and her dad were both in tears when she confronted him about his treatment of of his brother after he came out. Obviously still a very painful subject for John Fashanu to come to terms with.

 

[Simster]

Good programme - if you were looking for a publicity vehicle for Amal Fashanu. Obviously her fashion career is failing and she wanted topic to kick start her media career. Most of this was stage managed sentimentality. How is it possible for me to know more about how John's dislike of Justin than she did?

Also - i find it hard to believe that substitutes in the Swedish fourth division are actually paid to play.

Totally agree with all of that. And I'd have to say the Amex piece was ludicrous, as Matt Lucas went on to show. She was talking about the atmosphere as if it was poisonous bile, which couldn't have been further from the truth. And it'll be a sad day when chants such as "we can see you holding hands" or "you're too ugly to be gay" are held up as vicious proof of the problem of lacking gay acceptance in football.

I thought the piece with John Fashanu was revealing, as it successfully showed him up for handling it all wrong back in the day, but he was big enough to admit things should have been handled differently, which must have been very difficult for him under the circumstances.

 

[Beach Hut]

I thought it was very interesting, attitudes will change very soon and I expect within 3 years a footballer who is gay will be just the norm.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Totally agree with all of that. And I'd have to say the Amex piece was ludicrous, as Matt Lucas went on to show. She was talking about the atmosphere as if it was poisonous bile, which couldn't have been further from the truth. And it'll be a sad day when chants such as "we can see you holding hands" or "you're too ugly to be gay" are held up as vicious proof of the problem of lacking gay acceptance in football.

I thought the piece with John Fashanu was revealing, as it successfully showed him up for handling it all wrong back in the day, but he was big enough to admit things should have been handled differently, which must have been very difficult for him under the circumstances.

The Amex episode was instructive. Amal Fashanu was trying so hard to be right-on and her encounter with Matt Lucas made her realise that things weren't as black and white as her preconceptions. It made her more open-minded and less quick to subsequently make snap-judgements, which helped the programme tremendously.

 

[The Buttery Biscuit Base]

The game of football is nowhere near as homophobic as some people seem to believe. Some people seem to imagine that the moment a professional declares himself gay or bisexual, that would spell the end of his career, as team mates and fans would disown him. Not so. After he came out, Fashanu played for Newcastle, Torquay, Aidrie and Hearts. OK, so it wasnt top flight football any more. However, his career was undone more by injury than being forced out for being gay. Together with the lack of support from his brother, the isolation Fashanu felt was probably heightened by the fervently anti-homosexual brand of Christianity that Fashanu associated himself with, and possibly had as much of an impact as general attitudes within the game. The threads on NSC over the last few days and this one also suggests fans generally are not living in the dark ages.

While professional footballers don't want to talk about it, I can't help feeling a gay footballer nowadays would be pushing at an open door if he was to come out as gay. The world is not as hostile as they may think.

Fantastic post.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

To be I honest I don't think there are any gay footballers . Sorry but football is just not for gays , I know lots of gay people and football just not their scene .

To my CERTAIN knowledge, that is simply not true.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

Remember that John Fash was playing for one of the toughest teams back then and had to maintain his 'hard man' image. It's small wonder that Justin would be an embarressment to him.

However, with age comes wisdom and you could see there were a whole lot of things he'd wish to go back and change but it's a private matter, a family affair and I doubt we'll see, or need, a much more public show of regret from him.

All very sad. Watchable programme but why this obsession with people 'coming out'? It said that 1 in 10 are Gay, well I must work with a fair few then but I don't know it nor do I need to but, if I did I don't think it would change what I feel about somebody solely on their sexuality.

 

[cunning fergus]

Interesting programme. Had she ever been to a football match before though?

The Millwall lads seemed genuinely open and honest about the issue and were a credit to their club.

Good to hear some sense from Matt Lucas too..........if "we can see you holding hands" is homophobic then surely "your Welsh and you know you are" (as sung to Bristol City fans a couple of weeks ago) is racist. Matt was bang on its not abuse.

Some of the bedwetters on here just need to get over it.

 

[T soprano]

To my CERTAIN knowledge, that is simply not true.

I know I'm only having a bit of fun in fact I know that Freddie ljungberg is gay

 

[METALMICKY]

Good programme - if you were looking for a publicity vehicle for Amal Fashanu. Obviously her fashion career is failing and she wanted topic to kick start her media career. Most of this was stage managed sentimentality. How is it possible for me to know more about how John's dislike of Justin than she did?

Also - i find it hard to believe that substitutes in the Swedish fourth division are actually paid to play.

I would have to agree with much of that. The simpering delivery and constant flicking of her hair undermined the attempt to come across as an insightful documentary. And wow wasn't it almost a wonderfully convenient cliche that it was Sweden, the land of raging liberalism...............and of course red got lezza nymphos

Ultimately, the program taught me nothing I did not know and only point of interest although somewhat stage managed was Fash's acceptance that he could have handled the situation better.

 

[burrish-gull]

[video]http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01bncfg/Britains_Gay_Footballers/[/video]

 

[jackalbion]

Totally agree with all of that. And I'd have to say the Amex piece was ludicrous, as Matt Lucas went on to show. She was talking about the atmosphere as if it was poisonous bile, which couldn't have been further from the truth. And it'll be a sad day when chants such as "we can see you holding hands" or "you're too ugly to be gay" are held up as vicious proof of the problem of lacking gay acceptance in football.

I thought the piece with John Fashanu was revealing, as it successfully showed him up for handling it all wrong back in the day, but he was big enough to admit things should have been handled differently, which must have been very difficult for him under the circumstances.

I think that if they had showed some of the other homophobic abuse like leicester away ''town full of faggots'' etc and the palace take it up the bum song that would of shown the bad side of the homophobic abuse

 

[CliveWalkerWingWizard]

Good programme - if you were looking for a publicity vehicle for Amal Fashanu. Obviously her fashion career is failing and she wanted topic to kick start her media career. Most of this was stage managed sentimentality. How is it possible for me to know more about how John's dislike of Justin than she did?

Also - i find it hard to believe that substitutes in the Swedish fourth division are actually paid to play.

Have to agree a lot of this was staged -Close ups of fashion labels , shopping trips with her best friend - publicity vehicle and poor journalism. I can not believe she did not know of her dads actions previous to the show. John was not man enough to say he was wrong.
Also the "why is it acceptable to come out for rugby players " was a joke. Thomas came out after he retired.
We haven't had a flood of players come out since.
Thought it was very shallow - shame.

 

[perseus]

Pony Express (Night Mare)

You will have to ask the girls?

 

[Triggaaar]

To be I honest I don't think there are any gay footballers . Sorry but football is just not for gays , I know lots of gay people and football just not their scene

Yeah my nephew is gay he hates football he's the only gay in the village I know ,

You're weird.