Playing it straight

In case you missed it, the World Cup kicks off in South Africa this week and as footballers from around the globe descend on to the world stage, spare a thought for those players for whom bringing along their WAG was never an issue.

Despite living in liberal times, it's never been a good time to be a gay footballer. Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Graham Le Saux and others have all been  victims of homophobic aggression over the years, from supporters, the media and their peers alike and they were only suspected of being gay. A Football Association anti-homophobia campaign due to be launched earlier this year was postponed and it was later revealed that top-ranking footballers turned down requests to appear in the film because they feared being ridiculed on the pitch.

The hypersexuality versus the hyper-homophobia of soccer has condemned gay footballers to the closet. While rugby stars, basketball players and hurlers have all admitted their sexuality, no footballer has come out since Justin Fashanu announced he was gay twenty years ago, effectively ending his career and eventually ending his life eight years later. Last month, ex-footballer Ian Wright admitted on TV that he wouldn't advise any gay player to come out as it would be tantamount to career suicide.

Sylvia Arthur speaks to Klaus Heusslein, president of the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association about why it is that football remains an intensely anti-gay sport and what can be done to improve the ugly side of the beautiful game.

There have been a number of sportspeople who’ve come out recently but none from football. Why is that?
Professional soccer attracts a lot of media interest, in particular, stories about individual players and their indiscretions. With such large sums of money for individuals and clubs at stake, a player coming out would have to deal with intolerable media pressure which would no doubt affect his ability to transfer between teams. So, essentially, it's a profesional decision.
What impact would a mainstream, internationally-known footballer coming out have on the game?

I don't believe that it would have an impact on the game but it could have a big impact on the thinking of people and other players. How prevalent is homophobia in football today?Homophobia is still a big issue even in liberal countries like Denmark, Germany, Great Britain or France. We do experience homophobia-related incidents frequently. The situation in less liberal countries like Italy, Eastern Europe or Latin American is even worse.

How much does fear of homophobia prevent gay men from getting into the game professionally?
I don't believe that the fear of homophobia prevents gay men from becoming professional soccer players. Gay men have often hidden their sexuality to reach other high positions in the economy and politics, they are just doing the same in sport.

As a gay football fan, what’s it like being on the terraces? What experiences have you had from a fan’s standpoint?
In Europe there are a lot of gay fan clubs who have already reached an acceptance among the other fans as well as from "their" favourite clubs. I have personally never experienced any problems on the terraces, but I guess that one's experience depends also on his own behaviour. I don't think that other fans on the terraces are really interested in my sexual preferences but rather in the game.

Why is there still a need for an organisation like IGLFA today?
The IGLFA is the only worldwide GLBT Football organisation. We are not only organising the IGLFA Worldcup, which gives the teams from all over the world the opportunity to challenge each other but we are also trying to help teams and players from continents like Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia to participate in those tournaments through our outreach program. In addition we run the annual IGLFA World Cup which provides teams from all continents the opportunity to enjoy different styles of football as well as nurture the camaraderie inherent in sport.

How have things changed over the years?
Nowadays gay and lesbian teams are participating (especially in Europe and Northern America) in regular championships and some of them are doing this as openly gay teams without ever experiencing any homophobic reactions. Though there are still a lot of countries (even in Europe) in which homophobia is still a big issue.

What work is the IGLFA doing to try to make the mainstream game more gay-friendly and less homophobic?
We're involved in several anti-homophobia projects, such as FARE and the recently formed Justin Campaign. Some of our member teams are trying to integrate straight players into their teams or they participate openly in regular championships and tournaments to make people understand, that we are not that much different. Homophobia is at least partly caused by the fact that the general public has little/no social contact with lesbian and gay people. Bringing people in touch with each other will help to increase understanding and acceptance. In Germany there is the highly successful Come Together Cup which bring teams to play in a competition to show that prejudice of any kind is not acceptable.

Doesn’t having separate tournaments defeat the purpose of integration?
Not at all! We do organise those tournaments but many of them are open for "straight teams". In addition these tournaments are - at least at this moment - the only opportunities for teams from less liberal countries, to live there sexual orientation openly also in a sphere of a sport competition. Organising "gay tournaments" and promoting them in the so-called "normal" mass media; like in 2008 during the IGLFA Worldcup in London, might also attract the attention of the public and can help in that way to change their minds.

How can football be used as a unifying tool to overcome homophobia and build tolerance?
Tolerance means to understand and to know the each other - football can be an excellent way to build bridges of understanding. We are are currently working with the Belarus LGBT rights campaign to develop soccer as a way of showing that LGBT are no different to other players.We have reached already a lot in the past, but we still have a lot to do now and in the future to fight homophobia.

The World Cup begins this week in South Africa, which is known for its homophobia. What work are you doing to support your members who may be going to tournament, if anything?
We are helping our members from Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe to organise their journey (e.g. visa requests etc) as well as with funding them ´if needed and possible. Most international tournaments offer free accommodations for outreach applicants. Sometimes we do even waive the participation frees for those players. The issues vary from country to country, in some cases people need official invitations to request a visa, in other cases they do simply need financial help to attend a tournament. Our World Cup in London in 2008 provided outreach support for two lesbian teams from South African to attend. This year the Gay Games has a similar policy and funds for a number participants in different disciplines has been provided.

For more information on the International Gay and Lesbian Football Federation visit www.iglfa.org. The 2010 Gay Games takes place in Cologne, Germany on 31 July - 7 August.

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