“Gaygooners has changed my life so many ways” | Feature | News |

Contents:

• GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS ENGLAND’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB
• 'WE LOVE FOOTBALL AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE' - HOW THE GAY GOONERS AND ARSENAL ARE TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA
• THE GAY GOONERS: SEAN MONCRIEFF TALKS TO THE LARGT LGBTQ FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS GROUP ENGLAND
• ARSENAL’S GAY GOONERS AMONG ENGLISH LGBT SOCCER FAN GROUPS PHG FOR CLN
• ‘THIS MUNY CHANGED MY LIFE’ ARSEBLOG NEWS TALKS TO GAY GOONERS FOR PRI
• GAY GOONERS
• GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS UK’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB
• RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH
• GAY GOONERS: AT THE FOREONT OF FAN CLN
• EXCLIVE! ARSEBLOG NEWS SPEAKS TO GAY GOONERS ON THEIR 5TH ANNIVERSARY

GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS ENGLAND’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB

Gay Gooners exists to provi a social group for LGBT+ Arsenal fans, alli and their iends to meet up, provi a safe and welg space, and mpaign to kick homophobia, biphobia and transphobia out of football. Gay Gooners’ patron and lifelong Arsenal supporter, edian Matt Lus says he is “immensely proud of and grateful to the club” for s support for the group and how “young gay fans now feel clud by the club a way my generatn never uld”.

Gay Gooners aim to rid football of the surg that are homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (Picture: Metro/Arsenal/Getty)‘I don’t give a toss that you’re LGBT, you’re an Arsenal fan and you hate Spurs! That is the roundg msage om the -chair of Gay Gooners, Arsenal’s official supporters’ group for LGBT+ fans, Carl Fearn, who wants all fans to be treated equally, no matter their sexualy or genr. Gay Gooners is the official Arsenal supporters’ group for LGBT+ fans (Picture: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Imag)‘I was married for 12 years before I me out, ’ says Fearn.

'WE LOVE FOOTBALL AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE' - HOW THE GAY GOONERS AND ARSENAL ARE TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA

Gay Gooners, who have garnered over 1, 100 members all seven ntents sce the group’s ceptn 2013, are helpg to create a safer environment for LGBT+ fans. It’s a social group for LGBT+ Arsenal supporters and their iends to provi a safe space which they n meet up, share tickets, anise trips to away gam and mpaign to rid football of the surg that are homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

The north London club display the Gay Gooners banner at the Emirat Stadium and ve members to take part cln trag for staff, while the group reprent the Gunners at the annual London Pri para. Carl Fearn wh Arsenal mast Gunnerss (Picture: Getty)Fearn nonts homophobic abers his own diplomatic way, spe standg at over 6’4″ stature, and rells a particularly fond scenar which an aber turned to an ally.

THE GAY GOONERS: SEAN MONCRIEFF TALKS TO THE LARGT LGBTQ FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS GROUP ENGLAND

He rerc the pot that alli are val, revealg that around 10 per cent of Gay Gooners members intify as straight, but are nohels val supportg the group and speakg out agast discrimatn. Jake Daniels is the first male profsnal footballer England to e out as gay 32 years (Picture: Sky Sports)In May, Blackpool striker Jake Daniels beme the first male profsnal player English football to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Patrice Evra recently opened up on the homophobic views aired by some of his former Wt Ham team-mat, claimg they would ll for a gay player to leave the club and refe to share a post-match shower room wh them.

If you’re om a certa untry playg for a certa large football club and one of the players me out, the backlash that you might get even though you’re not the gay player might be as bad as what a gay player might get anyway. England's largt LGBT+ football club supporters’ group is makg the Emirat a more welg place for people who jt want to be themselvIt was Sunday, January 23 and Arsenal had jt been held to a tratg 0-0 draw by Burnley at Emirat Fearn and a number of fellow members of the Gay Gooners, the largt LGBT+ football club supporters’ group England, ma their way to one of the many pubs close to the Emirat to chew the fat over a post-match pt.

However, as he stood at the bar, Carl heard somethg prsgly faiar: a homophobic chant beg sung by a group of Arsenal fans on the other si of the so much prev experience wh the suatn, the 58-year-old kept his feelgs check.

ARSENAL’S GAY GOONERS AMONG ENGLISH LGBT SOCCER FAN GROUPS PHG FOR CLN

Later on, though, he would have a nversatn wh the landlord that would set motn a seri of events that would culmate Arsenal celebratg their relatnship wh the Gay Gooners throughout Saturday’s game agast Brentford.

‘THIS MUNY CHANGED MY LIFE’ ARSEBLOG NEWS TALKS TO GAY GOONERS FOR PRI

”Fearn, who is -chair of Gay Gooners, was te to his word and spoke to 24 hours was cid that flyers and posters wouldn’t jt be given to that one pub, but stead hand out at every pub around the Emirat by Gay Gooners members and Arsenal “We’re tryg to get out there that we love football as much as anybody else, ” Fearn says.

Several Gay Gooners members were filmed discsg their relatnship wh the club and some of the difficulti they’ve faced jt tryg to be themselv at vio footage was broadst on the giant screens si the stadium at half-time and was also put out across the club’s social media giant rabow flags were missned and two members om the group were posned pchsi to wave them as the teams me out and when goals were sred. Arsenal FC/GOALThe centre spread of the matchday programme featured a Gay Gooners banner, along wh the quot of three Gay Gooners members which spelled out what the group means to them. Arsenal also alloted one of the executive box at the stadium to the Gay Gooners as a way of givg a space for LGBT+ fans who hadn’t been to a game before or who had issu or ncerns about attendg a match on their own.

GAY GOONERS

“It was a way of people beg able to enjoy the game a welg space as their thentic selv, ” says Joe Whe, who is -chair of Gay Gooners and who hosted the box on Saturday. Gay Gooners was tablished Febary, 2013 and is the first and largt LGBT+ football supporters' group England, wh well over 1, 000 members the UK and group holds regular meet-ups before home gam, anis group trips to away match and reprents the club at the annual London pri para every members, such as Carl Fearn, have seen some signifint progrs ma over the years when to makg LGBT+ fans feel more wele when watchg their team. The overridg msage that the Gay Gooners want to get out and that the club tried to share on Saturday is that Arsenal is for fan should be able to go and support their team whout havg to hear discrimatory abe or be ma to feel unfortable about their, the Gay Gooners will ntue workg wh the club to ensure LGBT+ fans are ma to feel as wele as possible at Emirat Stadium.

Raval also highlighted that there are no current openly gay players playg the Premier League, spe the fact that there were some openly gay female players. ' How n you expect one man, right the middle of this pch, surround by 60, 000 people, to put his hand up and say, 'Hey, I'm the gay one, ' when not a sgle other person has done so? The Gay Gooners, found 2012, were England's first gay soccer fan group, and they now number more than 600, makg them the largt such group anywhere the world.

Although fans who take part often sist such slurs aren't tend as anti-gay — much like fenrs of the famo "puto" chant — the sual e of homophobic language sends the clear msage that this sport isn't for them. After a few years, thanks to their work wh clubs — as well as some celebry endorsements — word of groups like the Gay Gooners and the Proud Canari had gotten out. In addn to sharg bt practic for alg wh issu like homophobic chants, the existence of an umbrella group giv supporters more clout when workg wh erng bodi.

GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS UK’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB

Last season, the club started playg a vio the stadium featurg several members of Gay Gooners, as well as Aaron Ramsdale and Kim Ltle, outlg a zero-tolerance approach to homophobic abe the stadium. “I was a pub jt when stadiums re-opened after vid and I heard some horrible homophobic and antisemic abe and the landlord said they didn’t really know how to handle . “So that homophobic chant or ment might seem like banter but for an LGBT person that’s nstant, that’s another thg to al wh, then there’s another a few mut later, then you read somethg onle or the paper and that prsure builds and people start to thk ‘if people really hate me that much what’s the pot?

RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH

Lonels is an issue for LGBT people and when you are alone and you are alg wh that, n lead to bad thgs and that’s another one of the reasons we really need a muny like Gay Gooners.

GAY GOONERS: AT THE FOREONT OF FAN CLN

Selena says the number of gay women who both play and watch women’s football means that the explosn of the women’s game has led to a greater number of lbian members jog the GGs. “The way the women’s game has explod this year, we have been able to brg a lot of fans om there so a lot joed this year om the women’s game and now we have a really strong followg of Gay Gooners at the women’s gam gam home and away.

It’s amazg to have those gay rolemols on the pch and the stands and ’s probably even more amazg for younger gay female fans to really have the high-profile gay women reprentg their club, who are so open about . “I get why don’t happen bee there would probably be issu the stands but I really wish our gay male fans had some of that, those rolemols the game who are jt like them and out about . Qatar World trailblazers, they have also enuraged other football teams the UK to start their very own dited clubs tailored to gay is hoped that, one day, there will be no need for dited LGBT supporters groups, when homophobia is firmly kicked out the footballg world once and for group’s mpaign officer, Jab Jefferson, adms that time is a ‘long way 23-year-old first realised the Gay Gooners existed when he saw their rabow flag hangg the stands of the told ‘I’d been gog to gam sce I was 7 or 8 and regularly om the age of 14 onwards.

’Membership of the Gay Gooners – which clus straight alli – has reached 1, 370 members across 51 ’s ma history as the first and largt LGBT+ football supporters’ group England and hop to grow even more over the g year. The history of the Gay GoonersOctober 1989 – A group of gay football fans, mostly Arsenal supporters, began meetg the Salmon and Compass pub at Chapel Market Islgton and form the ‘Gay Football Supporters Network’ – over time be a amatr league for gay football players1990s – Several gay Arsenal fans GFSN often met prematch at The Gunners pub and postmatch at the Bank of Friendship pub.

EXCLIVE! ARSEBLOG NEWS SPEAKS TO GAY GOONERS ON THEIR 5TH ANNIVERSARY

2012 – Stewart secur backg om munitns director Mark Gonnella and CEO Ivan Gazidis for Arsenal support for an official LGBT+ football fan group, lled GayGooners16 Febary 2013 – official lnch of gaygooners.

One watchg the para jumps over the barrier and 2013 – regular prematch meetgs beg a muny room next to Arsenal mmSunday 22 September 2013 – newly-stalled banner seen for first time at Emirat stadiumClub supports anti-homophobia mpaignSeptember 2013 –Vice-pta Mikel Arteta and pta Thomas Vermaelen wear rabow lac the first Rabow Lac mpaign Club supports anti-homophobia mpaignWter 2014 – first regular prematch meet-ups beg at the Rocket bar on Holloway RoadSprg 2014 – other clubs follow Arsenal’s lead wh official LGBT supporters groups, Proud Lilywh, Canal St Blu and Kop Outs28 June 2014 – About 25 Arsenal fans march London pri wh flags provid by Arsenal. September 2014 – Mikel Arteta and other Arsenal players appear a hilar vio backed by Stonewall about thgs they n’t change a mpaign agast homophobia All – LattAutumn 2014 – One of Arsenal gaygooners founrs Zed Lomax leads work wh other groups to tablish Pri Football, an alliance of LGBT football fan groups. December 2014 – Send gaygooners Christmas party wh members travellg om around the UKFebary 2015 – Pat Rice appears pchsi to help gaygooners lnch a new stadium bannerApril 2015 – fan groups e together to urge an end to homophobic songs sung by a band at Arsenal pubs.