Homophobic Chanting - The FA's reply

[bhaexpress]

Just got this back from the FA, thought I'd pass it on.



Thank you for contacting The FA with regards to tackling homophobia and the change in the ground regulations. It was pressure from Brighton and Hove Albion that was one of the triggers to change the ground regs and for the football authorities to take a proactive stance. We believe that education and raising awareness of the issue is the best route to take and for clubs/local police to mange each incident and deal with offenders appropriately. This can include banning offenders from matches and removal of season tickets and we are currently working with the Gay Football Supporters Network to provide volunteer liaison officers to work with clubs to support them with the implementation the ground regs.



If there are issues of homophobic abuse reported to The FA we would seek to ascertain if the club has done all it can to mitigate the likelihood of an offence occurring. This could include adverts in match programmes, stadium announcements, seeking local intelligence, working with fans groups etc. and ultimately The FA does have the power to impose sanctions on clubs. We are currently explaining the change to the ground regs to clubs so they are aware of their responsibilities and look forward to working with them and the volunteer network of officers provided by the GFSN.



I trust this answers your query and I would encourage all fans at Brighton to report any homophobic abuse to a steward at the time of the incident so that we can monitor the number of incidents occurring at matches and so they can be investigated. If necessary a report can be made direct to The FA after the match on 080 085 0508 or email FootballforAll@TheFA.com although its much easier for evidence to be gained and action taken if it is reported at the time.



Kind regards,

 

[Franks Wild Years]

Just got this back from the FA, thought I'd pass it on.

Shut up you bunch of limp wristed Southern softie hairdressers. Does your boyfriend know you wrote to us ?

Kisses, The FA.

 

[bhaexpress]

Just got this back from the FA, thought I'd pass it on.

Shut up you bunch of limp wristed Southern softie hairdressers. Does your boyfriend know you wrote to us ?

Kisses, The FA.

 

[Superphil]

I would encourage all fans at Brighton to report any homophobic abuse to a steward at the time of the incident so that we can monitor the number of incidents occurring at matches and so they can be investigated. If necessary a report can be made direct to The FA after the match on 080 085 0508 or email FootballforAll@TheFA.com although its much easier for evidence to be gained and action taken if it is reported at the time.

Have you ever tried to report anything to a steward at a game? that is laughable, and shows just how completely out of touch the FA are. The stewards give precisly f*** all about visiting fans, and if you do report anything, they just look at you as if to say, "why the f*** do you think I care?".

Just look at the innaction by our own stewards towards away fans for persistantly standing, they never make them sit down. But we're singled out if we stand for more than a few seconds in our own stands.

The FA is the best acronym ever for an organisation, tossers (except for Ernests ARSE).

 

[Barrel of Fun]

If there are issues of homophobic abuse reported to The FA we would seek to ascertain if the club has done all it can to mitigate the likelihood of an offence occurring. This could....seeking local intelligence

Easier said than done in some parts of England.

 

[Bozza]

Just look at the innaction by our own stewards towards away fans for persistantly standing, they never make them sit down. But we're singled out if we stand for more than a few seconds in our own stands.

But that is something which occurs in football stadia the country over - away fans 'get away' (*) with standing and the home fans do not. There have been numerous times when we have 'benefited' from this.

(* of course some do not get away with it any longer with teams being punished by way of reduced capacity when they travel)

 

[Monkster]

Have you ever tried to report anything to a steward at a game? that is laughable, and shows just how completely out of touch the FA are. The stewards give precisly f*** all about visiting fans, and if you do report anything, they just look at you as if to say, "why the f*** do you think I care?".

Just look at the innaction by our own stewards towards away fans for persistantly standing, they never make them sit down. But we're singled out if we stand for more than a few seconds in our own stands.

The FA is the best acronym ever for an organisation, tossers (except for Ernests ARSE).

Agree with you but remember that AWAY fans at the Theatre of Trees who are paying one of the highest ticket prices, can't actually SEE the game from the away stand unless they are standing....FACT

 

[Superphil]

I understand that, my point is, the stewards do nothing to deal with away fans behaviour at our ground, it is irrelelvent whether they can see or not, you are not allowed to stand in those seats, you are not allowed racist or homophobic chants. Our stewards DO NOTHING about this.

And at away grounds we attend, they have no interest in our welfare. Imagine next season, when the home fans we are visiting start giving it "do you take it up the arse". "Excuse me steward, would you please ask those fans to stop that chanting, and I would like to report this incident".

Yeah right, forget it, it ain't going to happen, they are not going to do anything about it. And that is because the FA have f*** All clout when it comes to running our game.

NB, I am not offended by the chanting, and gladly join in with "1-0 to the Nancy Boys" etc. My point is, IMHO, the FA are not fit to run our game, they do nothing worthwile to enhance the game for the fans, and spend buckets of cash (originally our cash) on these fools errands.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I am not offended by the chanting, and gladly join in with "1-0 to the Nancy Boys" etc.

Those were the days.

Hopefully, with Forster and Revell on fire, we might get the opportunity again.

Or am I being over-optimistic?

 

[Monkster]

Superphil, I know you're right, you know you're right......

Just pointing out the fact that for £24.50 and sitting more than 135yrds away from the goal at the east stand, I couldn't see a thing without standing

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Christ, not this again.

We all join in with the "sheepshagger" and "Pikey" chants..is anyone seriously offended by the Gay stuff?, It has gone on as long as I have followed the Albion, and is part and parcel of supporting the club.

Brighton is well known as a haven for Gays, with a highly visible and voiciferous Homosequal community, what the hell do we expect?, some knuckle dragger from Doncaster or Crewe to ignore this fact?

What else will they chant?, I personally think that it shows them up as the pricks they are when Albion fans come back with "Youre too ugly to be Gay", in the same way that Tottenham have turned the anti jewish thing into a joke on their opponents.

Grow up FFS.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Christ, not this again.

We all join in with the "sheepshagger" and "Pikey" chants..is anyone seriously offended by the Gay stuff?, It has gone on as long as I have followed the Albion, and is part and parcel of supporting the club.

Brighton is well known as a haven for Gays, with a highly visible and voiciferous Homosequal community, what the hell do we expect?, some knuckle dragger from Doncaster or Crewe to ignore this fact?

What else will they chant?, I personally think that it shows them up as the pricks they are when Albion fans come back with "Youre too ugly to be Gay", in the same way that Tottenham have turned the anti jewish thing into a joke on their opponents.

Grow up FFS.

Seconded

 

[Mendoza]

at the cricket on monday the gloucester fans were giving it the gay chants, we gave it back with pikey and your house is under water retorts, they loved it, was a good humoured atmosphere,
but then the stweards and police moved them to the other side of the ground

 

[NMH]

First of all, the point of Stewards at games, is to help, protect and allow fans to enjoy the match - AND monitor the behaviour of all fans, visiting or home.

There HAS to be an element of UNDERSTANDING and REASON to stewarding, and on-the-spot judgement calls.
They can NOT force a whole stadium or even one stand, to stop singing, or standing - and since HOME fans are at Withdean every game there - they are expected to follow rules and regulations with SENSE and consistency that befits our home support.

When, as is FACT, the Albion supporters actually ENCOURAGE and even START the chants - "2-1, to the shirtlifters" and etc - then an element of understanding is something all BHA fans hope is enacted....otherwise that will become a homophobic chant, and our own fans will be ejected!!

If one or two fans shout ANYTHING racist - they are OUT without warning or consultation. The same goes for one or two fans shouting "you effing faggots, you suck dick you homos" - they will be simply, and quickly EJECTED from the game, and may be reported to their own club for bans. CCTV cameras ARE at Withdean so that ringleaders of large sections are reported, for abusive chanting or encouragements of bad behaviour.

It's fairly simple Superphil - the best way to exercise authority is by using understanding and reasonability - violence, and racism are absolutely not tolerated. There are no violent acts and no racist chants that can be construed as funny or tongue in cheek. Homophobia is open to interpretation, and especially when our fans are embracing it so that it can be used to mock rival support.

 

[NMH]

It is also true that the away end is notoriously awful, and difficult to enjoy a match after traveling hundreds of miles to pay good money for - and by and large the away fans last season behaved very well under the circumstances.

I have also been to away games where most Brighton fans remained standing, and we were not treated like POW's
Why should our stewards then bear down on visiting support opressively ?

There was only ONE ARREST last season - does this suggest that our stewards allowed unruly behaviour...... or that their handling of the crowds was done with responsibility, reasonability and understanding? Bear in mind that there are other officials at our games who will report us if things went either way - too heavy-handed or too lenient.
These good records at Withdean not only contribute to the bid in favour of us getting the nod for a new stadium, but our opponents can't use anything about stewarding of games, or crowd behavior AGAINST us!

 

[bhaexpress]

Christ, not this again.

We all join in with the "sheepshagger" and "Pikey" chants..is anyone seriously offended by the Gay stuff?, It has gone on as long as I have followed the Albion, and is part and parcel of supporting the club.

Brighton is well known as a haven for Gays, with a highly visible and voiciferous Homosequal community, what the hell do we expect?, some knuckle dragger from Doncaster or Crewe to ignore this fact?

What else will they chant?, I personally think that it shows them up as the pricks they are when Albion fans come back with "Youre too ugly to be Gay", in the same way that Tottenham have turned the anti jewish thing into a joke on their opponents.

Grow up FFS.

If you had read my original post (from last week) you'd know that I only asked the FA what they proposed to do about Homophobic Chanting. I got back the expected bland response but thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

[Superphil]

Hey, calm down, understand me, I couldn't give a toss who stands, who sits, who sings Nancy Boys songs. My point is simple, the rules are not adhered to, the stewards do not enforce them with away fans, but come down on the home fans big time. The FA are wasting time, and our money, to come up with these reports.

And fans are most certainly not ejected for shouting abuse like "You effing Faggots" at the grounds we visit, it happens all the time, and I have never seen the "home" stewards do anything. If we were to report the instances when these things are shouted, the stewards at the away grounds we visit will do nothing.

The second last time we were at Crewe, unbelievably on the day all the players wore “Kick racism out of football” T Shirts in the warm up, there was a fan in the BRIGHTON crowd who started giving out what most would class racist abuse and comments. The Stewards DID f*** ALL, even when people pointed the individual out to them.

Al I am saying is that this is a waste of time, why are the FA wasting effort doing this, when they have not made sure the clubs will implement it.

 

[burrish gull]

I understand that, my point is, the stewards do nothing to deal with away fans behaviour at our ground, it is irrelelvent whether they can see or not, you are not allowed to stand in those seats, you are not allowed racist or homophobic chants. Our stewards DO NOTHING about this.

And at away grounds we attend, they have no interest in our welfare. Imagine next season, when the home fans we are visiting start giving it "do you take it up the arse". "Excuse me steward, would you please ask those fans to stop that chanting, and I would like to report this incident".

Yeah right, forget it, it ain't going to happen, they are not going to do anything about it. And that is because the FA have f*** All clout when it comes to running our game.

NB, I am not offended by the chanting, and gladly join in with "1-0 to the Nancy Boys" etc. My point is, IMHO, the FA are not fit to run our game, they do nothing worthwile to enhance the game for the fans, and spend buckets of cash (originally our cash) on these fools errands.

Two years ago at QPR away one of the QPR subs gave a homophobic gesture to me and some other Brighton fans, I tried to complain to two nearby met policeman. As I approached them they grabbed my arm up behind my back, frog marched me to the back of the stand and threw me down a stairwell then pinned me up against a wall by the throat. As I protested they accused me of spitting at them and to shut the f** up, by now 3 stewards appeared and started swearing at me.

I was then thrown down another stairwell and kicked out the ground, my knee had been damaged and I could hardly walk. I then saw a transit full of policeman outside and tried to complain, I was to told to f** off. I spent the next 3 months with a swollen knee and was too scared to report the incident as I did'nt think I'd get anywhere.

I was'nt drunk or abusive, just wanted to make a complaint about homophobic abuse. Needless to say I hate the police now and its made me think twice about going to Albion away games

 

[Superphil]

If you had read my original post (from last week) you'd know that I only asked the FA what they proposed to do about Homophobic Chanting. I got back the expected bland response but thought I'd mention it anyway.

Just about sums them up really, they want to be seen to be dealing with something that they don't actually want to get involved with.

 

[NMH]

I think you'll find that the latest FA instructions are that there is to be careful monitoring and less tolerance re homophobic chanting - the older instructions did NOT address much regarding homo chants or shouting.