T-Shirt, 'Football v Homophobia'

MOL.2016.81.12

Information

In 2010, Football v Homophobia was launched by the Justin Campaign in memory of Justin Fashanu, Britain’s first openly-gay professional football player. Justin took his own life in 1998 following allegations of sexual assault in Maryland, USA, where homosexual activity was illegal at the time. The Justin Campaign highlights that little has changed regarding homophobia in UK football; in fact, since Fashanu, no fully professional English footballer has come out during their footballing career. Football v Homophobia aims to eradicate homophobia in football, and make games more friendly and welcoming to LGBT fans. They do this by applying pressure on clubs to institute a zero-tolerance policy towards homophobia, to develop anti-homophobia and transphobia policies, promote the safe reporting of abuse, and to educate teams on equality. They also encourage fans to educate, raise awareness, and to apply pressure to clubs who have not publically condemned homophobia and transphobia. Whilst Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club have supported the Football v Homophobia campaign, as of 2014 only 11 of the 20 Premiership League clubs had joined, and less than a quarter of the 72 teams of the Football League.