Football is for everyone. Or rather, it should be.
As much as we’d love to imagine that football is rid of any form of prejudice, and that we now live a utopian era of complete acceptance, the truth is that despite a lot of progress there are still cases of unacceptable behaviour at our football grounds.
It is not football’s problem in isolation. The nation’s favourite pastime is of course a reflection of society as a whole and therefore cannot be held solely responsible for everything that is said and done in its name.
That said, the sport must nevertheless do everything within its power to be as inclusive as possible and punish any form of discrimination. Each and every one of us can do our part to eradicate bigotry.
It is sad indictment that in the year 2016, there isn’t a single openly gay footballer in the Premier League. Of course it is a deeply personal decision for someone to come out, but that damning fact suggests the current environment is not right.
A number of clubs are doing good work in supporting LGBT cause, including Norwich City who are supporting Norwich Pride this weekend. They promoted their partnership with the event on Thursday afternoon via both Facebook and Twitter.
City are proud to be supporting #NorwichPride this weekend. #ncfc
Full story: https://t.co/vqbT2kzaHb pic.twitter.com/IeV4bZlAaO
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) July 28, 2016
Many were very supportive of the move and praised the club for its commitment to diversity and equality. However, there were one or two dissenting voices, including one individual who complained: “What the hell has this to do with football?”
The response from the club was concise, emphatic and perfect. “Everything”, they explained.
https://twitter.com/ginjadave/status/758931222240251904
