Football: You Boys Play Nice Now!

FA Cup winners Arsenal, Paddy Power, Stonewall and the Gay Football Supporters' Network have again teamed up to help tackle one of the toughest challenges in sport: homophobia in football.

Erm, not sure I get what this is saying.

'Be nice to the poofs, lads, cause - although being a bummer is a bit of a bummer, like being short or looking like a Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle - they can't help it, and they can't change.'

Still, great stuff guys; cause there's nothing so fucking fantastic as when a real man - an actual soccerball star no less! - says he quite likes the gays.

#sobrave

Good slaves are so grateful for just a smile from our masters.

PS The sports aren't Fagburn's strong point, but I think there are 28 players in the Arsenal squad. Are we to assume the other 23 are okay with homophobia?

Pink News - this patronising drivel is an actual article, and not a piss-take!

Oh Gloria, wait til Fagburn unveils his 'Wear Your Rainbow Loom Band With Pride!' campaign - it's gonna make homophobia disappear 4 EVAH!

Paddy Power: You Betcha!

@MSNSteveJ @stonewalluk It's about communicating with players and clubs. We think this cheeky approach is a great way to do that. #RBGF
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) September 18, 2013

You can't beat a bit of homophobic locker room banter, eh?
Or publicity whoring.
Lighten up mate, it's all in a good cause etc etc.
Oh hahaha!

PS For clarification, Fagburn doesn't find this ad particularly offensive, mainly on account of him not being a humourless gaybore.

Update: See statement from Football V Homophobia, who pulled out of involvement with the campaign because they "did not feel comfortable with some aspects of the language and tone."

Gay Footballers: Behind You!

Professional footballers in England and Scotland have been asked to back a campaign addressing homophobia in the game by wearing rainbow laces in their boots next weekend.
Sets of laces have been sent to all Premier League and Football League clubs, plus the 42 teams in the Scottish Professional Football League, by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
The Right Behind Gay Footballers campaign is focused on changing attitudes in football rather than urging players to come out and wants players to wear the laces in games on 21 and 22 September.
Laura Doughty, deputy chief executive of Stonewall, which is being backed by the bookmaker Paddy Power, said: "It's time for football clubs and players to step up and make a visible stand against homophobia in our national game. By wearing rainbow laces players will send a message of support to gay players and can begin to drag football into the 21st century."
QPR's Joey Barton tweeted his support for the campaign, writing: "Show that people's sexuality shouldn't be an issue. Join the rainbow laces movement."

The Guardian.  

Am I alone in thinking the slogan, "Right Behind Gay Footballers", echoes football fans' laddish, homophobic "banter"?

Here's the Stonewall release - and their 2009 survey into soccerball fans' views about The Gays and homophobia and that.
Stonewall estimate the odds of there not being a gay man among the UK's 5,000 professional footballers is 1 in 22,947,321,563,647,480,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Though this may be a ballpark figure.
(It's also based on Stonewall's over-estimation of the gay population, and an assumption that gay men will be as equally represented in football as they are elsewhere - unlikely). 

And here's a previous tweet from our pal Joey...

Think I've found a man to respect and admire this morning, step forward Prof Noam Chomsky.......
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) December 15, 2011

Top lad.*

PS Remember this campaign's backers Paddy Power's 'Ladies' Day' TV ad, which the ASA ruled was offensive and discriminatory to trans people? Oops!

* Uncle Noam has a new collection of interviews out, On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima To Drone Warfare. It's ace.

Paddy Power: Stupid Ads

'Complaints over an advert for bookmaker Paddy Power featuring transgender people have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

'The TV advert shown in February ahead of Ladies' Day at the Cheltenham Festival invited viewers to spot the "stallions" from the "mares".
'The ASA investigated 92 complaints that the advert was offensive and condoned harmful discriminatory behaviour.
'It ruled that it must not be shown again in its current form.
'The advert stated: "...we're going to make Ladies' Day even more exciting by sending in some beautiful transgendered ladies. Spot the stallions from the mares".
'The advert showed a series of brief shots of people at the event while the voice-over tried to guess their gender.
'In one scene, a woman was shown holding a dog while the voice-over said "woman" then hesitated while the shot changed to show a woman walking out of a men's toilet, then said "dog, I mean man"...'

BBC News. 
Interesting, the ASA has a very poor record on ruling on complaints about LGBT people and adverts.
Earlier this year they okayed the "Not Gay! Ex-Gay Post Gay And Proud Of It" London bus posters.
But upheld complaints about a 2010 Federici ice cream ad that showed two priests about to kiss - even though only six complaints had been received. 
But then it was some Christians who complained about the latter, not The Gays.

PS Paddy Power said they consulted The Beaumont Society on the script, but The Beaumont Society say they were shown a different version to the one filmed.

Paddy Power: A National Joke

'Channel 4 has no plans to drop a controversial "transgendered ladies" ad by bookmaker Paddy Power despite almost 500 complaints to the advertising watchdog, which have prompted a rival broadcaster to drop the campaign...'

MediaGuardian
As ever trans people can only be someone else's joke.
Like gay men in the 70s on TV sketch shows; "Oh whoops, duckie! Where's my handbag?"
Oh ha ha ha!
Grow fucking up

• The Advertising Standards Authority.