I wish it were that easy! :)

Sadly they’d only have a distaste for the ones who appeared in the PSA, calling them (surprise surprise)’faggots’ and ‘c*cksuckers.’ But since they’re probably ALREADY doing that… well… so much for the PSA.

Well then: if they grow enough distaste for the soccer players then eventually they’ll stop attending the games, which works even better than kicking them out :)

True, fining people won’t change their views towards gays, but providing one less space for them to express these bigoted remarks will, at the very least, make them think twice about saying them out loud. ESPECIALLY if they are personally reprimanded every time they do so.

Sure the PSA would raise some awareness to the problems of anti-gay slurs, but given that it’s only a generalized message projected on a screen – nothing that can affect the soccer fans directly – it can easily be dismissed as yet another attempt to enforce ‘political corectness’ upon them. At its most extreme, it’ll be dismissed as a product of the ‘homosexual agenda,’ which will only support their distaste for gays and, by association, the soccer players who support them. After all: bigots will, when challenged, find any number of ways to justify their hatred and to keep alternate (and reasonable) views at bay.

If anything the PSA will work on impressionable children and young teens – the next generation of soccer fans; but for the deeply homophobic, chauvinistic stadium-goers who are well into their 20s and beyond, its bound to do very little – if anything. There’s no harm in trying, though. Which is why I’m all for security (in conjunction with the PSA’s conscious-raising, of course) to ensure and end is put to homophobic remarks.

[Putting an end to homophobia - "the root of the problem" – is another campaign altogether, and one that would prove as futile as the war on terror. I mean, look at how deeply ingrained homophobia is in our nation's psyche and how prone it is to be spread using the rhetoric of 'fear' and 'nature'... We can't necessarily change what people think of us, but I'm a firm believer that we can change how they behave.]

This obviously won’t eliminate homophobia – but getting these mega-stars to speak out is a massive start.

Handing out fines and ejecting fans – I don’t think would help much. I have found myself ( and I’m sure others have) in situations where folks are using homophobic language in regards to a player – depending on the situation I or others have spoken out.

I have to say that there has been less and less examples of this – and we owe everyone who speaks out – gay and straight through the years a lot for this.

On a personal note – I hope my personal favorite – Fernando Torres also comes forward.

I, for one, applaud these efforts and can’t wait to see the final product.

Of course, the question will now remain whether or not stadium executives are willing to step up its security to ensure that such remarks are kept under control. Sure, it’s easy to give money to a one-time project like this; in fact, it’s effortless. But to amend your codes of conduct and ensure that there are enough security personnel to uphold them at EACH AND EVERY game is a completely different matter.

You know, much the same way they have ushers/guards at concert halls or movie theatres to prevent people from recording the performance/movie.