There was a report on the south-east news about Brighton fans complaining of homophobic abuse. This was a serious article which supported the severity of the situation. Before I go any further, I stress that I have never and will never condone any form of abuse aimed at causing distress at another human being what ever form it takes. However I can't help feeling this went a little too far and gauging by how Claire laughed at one song perhaps I was right.
The article stated at how Nottingham Forest fans sung songs about Brighton and had been reported to (I think) the FA. Apparently the fans had had enough of all the songs aimed their way. One lot of chants shouted "Does your boyfriend know you're here" and the other "We scored 5, you scored 1, Brighton take it up.....", you can imagine the rest. The issue I have is that this is totally wrong if aimed at an individual or in a private environment but doesn't all grounds have risque banter of some sort? Liverpool fans sings songs ridiculing the Munich aircrash, we sang songs about Steve Evans and call Swindonians "inbreds" and opposition fans call us pikeys! At some point every set of away fans have sung songs that have been offensive towards the home support in some way or another. Rightly or wrongly, what is the difference? No doubt it was funny because it wasn't aimed at me, but singing that I am a pikey is racist and racism is no better or worse than homophobia in my book.
Just as aside, Al Murray is quite knowledgeable on foreign cultures and has done programmes about them but his Pub Landlord character comes across as highly offensive to the French and Germans. This is acceptable as it is an act and it is not meant to be taken literally. Can't the same be said about the time honoured tradition of verbally abusing at a football ground and then going home as if it never happened at all? Why is humour in a theatre allowed but not in a football stadium?