Obscene or banter?

[Garawa]

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?

[CadburyMan]

Neither - its Offensive

Pikey - Obscene; banter or offensive ?

Dirty northern b******s - obscene; banter or offensive ?

Et al

[lidbid46]

I will join in with any singing or chanting to get behind the team, but I never join in anything like that already mentioned. This is not because I feel terribly strongly; I dislike Evans just like everyone else, and I really couldn't care less whether you support Swindon or Fulham or anyone else. It is just because I think it is demeaning and frankly beneath me to be singing songs like that. I always think that if my parents, or indeed my children, would not like to hear me singing those things, then I don't want to sing them. Incidently, my son, now 23 and entitled I guess to sing what he wants, never joins in any chant intended to demean anyone else. We have never discussed this issue - I just think he doesn't feel that it helps the team and he doesn't feel the need to insult others.

[Garawa]

So just out of interest Lidbid, would you say the Brighton fans have a case and is it worse than anything else? I agree with what you say and I am exactly the same, but I feel more angry about the Munich songs the Liverpool fans sing ridiculing the deaths of some very good players than I do songs mocking a stereotype (even when we showed off our pink away kits there were comments from Gills fans that it was better suited to Brighton and I cannot see the difference).

All songs like this are offensive and wrong but it seems to me that this is focussed upon without being the worst one that is sung.

[lidbid46]

I think it must be boring and frustrating to be a Brighton fan and have to hear the frankly immature chants every week. Also, every club must have their own gay fans; it can't be amusing for them to have to hear their own fans chanting abuse - much the same as a black or Asian fan having to listen to rascist chants from opposition fans or their own fans. When we went to Brighton a couple of years ago; in my innocence it was the first time I was aware of the chants, and to start with I am ashamed to say it made me smile for a few seconds. When our fans continued to chant homophobic nonsence, it then began to bore me because I wanted to sing properly, and by the end it was annoying me and my son had to shut me up as I was calling for it to stop and was getting nasty looks from some rather large Gills 'fans!' I don't understand why fans feel the need to comment on the opposition's supporters at all to be honest; much better to sing our songs as lodly as possible so that the team know we are behind them.
On a separate note, why haven't we got any songs connected just to us apart from 'The Last Waltz?' We used to sing or chant individually for the players and we sung different songs during a match. Now we just chant the Barmy Army song and 'Geeeels' and that seems to be it. Surely some of our players deserve their own chants by now.

[Elgrande]

I think the lack of songs is down to the seating and the way that stops groups of fans getting together. We had a lot more songs when standing in the Rainham End and Town End and most of those came from a group of fans starting something and then others joining in.
With regars to the abuse issue i do think people are getting a bit precious, but a lot of that is down to the change in the demographic of the average football fans. The West Street boys or the Moulscombe lot wouldn't have cared less at Brighton, but the new, more affluent football fan seems to a bit more senstitive! Just my opinion.