“A video showing football [read: soccer] stars speaking out against homophobia will be released next year as part of an unprecedented drive by the sport’s governing bodies to tackle a sharp rise in abuse and discrimination. The video will be shown in cinemas, on TV and in stadiums in an attempt to rid terraces and pitches of homophobic chants and slurs, the Guardian reveals.
It is hoped that up to a dozen players, including David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, David James, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and Cristiano Ronaldo, will be persuaded to take part.” [Guardian]
Darth Paul
Rooney and Ronaldo rock my world.
Smokey Martini
Meh. This will only work if two things take effect.
First, the commercials need to be presented time and again with no end in sight. If the PSAs are screened for only a couple of months or even a year, they they will lose much of their effectiveness.
Most importantly: they will only truly be effective if stadiums enforce a zero-tolerance policy on homophobic remarks, complete with some sort of punishment for those who produce homophobic slurs. You know, like booting the offenders or charging them with a fine.
Only then will I be completely convinced that this campaign will actually work. But a good first step nonetheless.
adzomelk
better to cast the lot of them in a queer porn flick just think of the audience it would reach they could call it footballers order your copy now
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
mmm, time will tell…
the only one that isn’t either money or attention hungry is sol campbell..
rooney will do it if ferdinand convinces him…
James & Campbell are bff’s AND with cole but he’s an ass-hole.
beckham and ronaldo walk to the beat of their own drum..
but it wont change anything-football/soccer fans get endormorphine highs from bullish behaviour!
Pete
What about the misogynistic nonsense? I think it’s great that they’re serious about going after homophobia, but I have to admit, the misogyny is out of control at football matches. And to truly undermine homophobia, you have to go after the misogyny, too.
I think this campaign will work. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll send a message of what is and isn’t acceptable. I remember watching Spain take on England a couple years ago and the Spanish fans were horribly racist towards the English players. I was surprised at how many Brits were totally livid about it, including the players. That’s quite the change from just a little over a decade ago.