Despite its best intentions, football remains unwelcoming of gay fans

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If you attend enough matches, you will hear abusive language. Fans may not mean it badly but their words still carry weight

By Ross Hunter for Nutmeg magazine

It is a cold March night at MacDiarmid Park. St Johnstone have just salvaged a draw against Hibs with an equaliser in the 83rd minute. As the referee blows the full-time whistle, the exasperated breath of a few thousand Hibees meets in the air above our heads. We stand up, almost in unison and, clutching programmes and scarves, we begin the trudge out of the stadium. Despite the scoreline, I am happy.

This is the first football match I have been to in years and, as we file towards the turnstiles, I try to remember what’s kept me away. I miss spending time with my brothers and my dad. I miss the palpable tension, the songs, the beauty and the rage apparent in a Friday night league game late into the season. I miss the scalding innards of a macaroni pie devoured too quickly. I miss, more than anything, the football. The depth of camaraderie that comes with following a team, particularly one whose fortunes seem to fluctuate year upon year.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/24/despite-its-best-intentions-football-remains-unwelcoming-of-gay-fans

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