Gay Gooners celebrate 10 years as UK's first LGBT football supporters club – Uned Kgdom

Contents:

• BAYERN MUNICH FANS TAKE DIG AT GERMANY STAR MUT OZIL WH NTROVERSIAL 'GAY GUNNERS' BANNER BEFORE EURO TIE
• PROUD LILYWH AND GAY GOONERS FLY (RABOW) FLAG FOR LGBT FOOTBALL FANS
• GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS UK’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB
• RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH
• ANTI-GAY GOONER PEOPLE & TRANSFER ADDICTS
• ‘NOT THE WORLD CUP FOR ALL THAT FIFA PROMISED’: GAYGOONERS MAKE QATAR PROTT
• GAY GOONERS FOTOS

BAYERN MUNICH FANS TAKE DIG AT GERMANY STAR MUT OZIL WH NTROVERSIAL 'GAY GUNNERS' BANNER BEFORE EURO TIE

Gay Gooners exists to provi a social group for LGBT+ Arsenal fans, alli and their iends to meet up, provi a safe and welg space, and mpaign to kick homophobia, biphobia and transphobia out of football. Gay Gooners’ patron and lifelong Arsenal supporter, edian Matt Lus says he is “immensely proud of and grateful to the club” for s support for the group and how “young gay fans now feel clud by the club a way my generatn never uld”.

PROUD LILYWH AND GAY GOONERS FLY (RABOW) FLAG FOR LGBT FOOTBALL FANS

8% by the Office for Natnal Statistics - has ma the club's fans a target for homophobic abeWARNING: This ntent ntas terms some rears may fd starts wh "we n see you holdg hands" or "do your boyiend know you're here?

"From there n get more graphic or are two of the homophobic tnts Brighton fans reported a dossier livered to the Football Associatn 2013, documentg abe om rival supporters the Champnship.

Mician Sir Elton John's posn as chairman and then honorary life print means Watford fans have heard fact Norwich have been reprented by edian and actor Stephen Fry the boardroom and Jt Fashanu - Bra's first openly gay footballer - on the pch trips a lonely cell some supporters' Brighton prepare for a first top-flight mpaign 34 years, the Premier League has already has met Costa and Ssex police's hate crim team, briefed other clubs about how to intify homophobic chantg and produced a poster to be displayed around Darren Balkham, force football officer for Ssex and Surrey, has passed on his experience of helpg police Brighton gam to var Premier League clubs, cludg Saturday's opponents Leicter, keeps the Natnal Football Policg Un updated and teracts wh ncerned fans via his Twter acunt. External-lkA sectn of the Premier League's poster that will be displayed at grounds around the divisnBut is no longer jt thori that stand agast the months before Brighton fans published their dossier, a group of Arsenal supporters found the Gay Gooners. "The Gay Gooners banner, which is proment at the Emirat, was unveiled by club legend Pat RiceAs well as a pch appearance, an endorsement om edian Matt Lus, the Gay Gooners publicise their existence wh a rabow banner hung om the stands at Emirat flag draws members for many reasons.

GAY GOONERS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS AS UK’S FIRST LGBT FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS CLUB

"Gay Gooners is a founr member of the Pri Football (PIF) alliance which brgs together LGBT fans' groupsAcross north London, divid by football but uned a e, Chris Paouros is part of Tottenham's Proud was at Old Trafford April 2001 to see Sol Campbell limp off the FA Cup semi-fal agast Arsenal.

RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH

Football's attus to sexualy are g unr creasg scty om si and outsi the bate over clubs' drive for clivy has been played out over social mediaAs well as proment mpaigns om Stonewall and the Football Associatn, there have been a slew of books, such as Ross Rais's A Natural, external-lk documentari, like Forbidn Gamexternal-lk - which exam Fashanu's life - and films, like The Pass, external-lk qutng why some parts of football stggle to accept gay people. Others are repulsed by their club's badge if on a rabow of which is wh their rights, but thanks to the work of Raval, Paouros, Costa and many others, homophobic abe no longer is. Updated: 10:08 BST, 12 March 2014 Bayern Munich uld fd themselv trouble wh UEFA after a small sectn of supporters unveiled a homophobic banner before the send leg of their Champns League clash wh banner, which featured the words 'Gay Gunners' and an animatn of midfielr Mut Ozil ont of the club's signature nnon, was unfurled ahead of kick-off at the Allianz Arena.

Dpe his posn as a regular member of Joachim Low's Germany squad, Ozil's recent form for Arsene Wenger's si has been qutned his home untry as fans and the media look ahead to this summer's World Cup Scroll down for Ozil wh club and untry lleague, Podolski, Germany's new k Controversial: Bayern Munich fans display a homophobic banner agast Arsenal the last round Fully foced: Arsenal midfielr Mut Ozil (right) tsl wh Bayern striker Mar Mandzic (left) Imprsive: At the same time Atleti Madrid fans were displayg this giant banner before playg AC Milan Dpe the small size of the banner, the Bunsliga champns uld well fd themselv on the end of a hefty fe if prev cints are anythg to go fed Celtic £42, 000 December after a large sectn of fans displayed an 'illic banner' their Champns League group stage game agast AC Milan at Celtic the banner, imag of William Wallace and Bobby Sands were shown alongsi the msage: 'The terrorist or the dreamer? Instead, the g together of north London rivals on a ld Tuday afternoon at a five-a-si centre Edmonton was a celebratn of a growg and important movement English football, that of LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) supporters groups. Two of the most proment are the Proud Lilywh and Gay Gooners and unr the watch of Frnd, a one-time Spurs player and ach, the former marked their first birthday celebratory five-a-si match London’s Edmonton was refereed by Tottenham ach and former midfielr Steffen Frnd.

Photograph: David Levene for The GuardianThe growg strength of Proud Lilywh and Gay Gooners is wele news, as is that of the other regnised LGBT supporters groups that have been set up across the untry recent years – Canal Street Blu (Manchter Cy), LFC LGBT (Liverpool), Pri of Irons (Wt Ham), Proud and Palace (Crystal Palace), Proud Canari (Norwich Cy), Rabow Toffe (Everton) and Rabow Tractors (Ipswich Town) their very existence is also a shame, highlightg that even 2015 homophobia remas a signifint enough problem English football that fans om the LGBT muny feel they need reprentatn and protectn.

ANTI-GAY GOONER PEOPLE & TRANSFER ADDICTS

Football remas an unacceptg environment for gay people and for our members; part of the reason for jog Gay Gooners is to have the assurance of safety numbers whenever they go to a Lilywh members enjoy the atmosphere at a five-a-si match to celebrate the group’s one-year anniversary. Photograph: Andy Hall for The Guardian“The way to overe that fear is to normalise homosexualy English football and make the prence of openly gay fans the stands – as well as openly gay players, managers and refere on the pch – a plete non-issue.

The erng body also striv to mata an active prence the fight agast homophobia English football, seen the workshops anised last year which brought together reprentativ om the Premier League and Football League wh those volved the LGBT supporters movement, most notably the Gay Football Supporters’ Network, which provis umbrella backg for the ne fan groups and is the procs of helpg set up others at clubs cludg Aston Villa, Sunrland and Readg.

”Unlike Proud Lilywh and Gay Gooners, LFC LGBT do not have an official lk wh Liverpool but the two work closely together, so much so that the former was able to get updated anti-discrimatn signage put up at the club’s stadium. ”For Amann, there are clear parallels between the work beg done by groups such as LFC LGBT, Proud Lilywh and Gay Gooners and that of those who s earlier fought to end racism English football.

‘NOT THE WORLD CUP FOR ALL THAT FIFA PROMISED’: GAYGOONERS MAKE QATAR PROTT

”The ne “regnised” LGBT supporters’ groups that exist the Premier League currentlyGay Gooners (Arsenal) – @gaygoonersProud Lilywh (Tottenham) – @SpursLGBTLFC LGBT (Liverpool) – @LFC_LGBTCanal Street Blu (Man Cy) – @CanalStBluRabow Toffe (Everton) – @RabowToffeRabow Tractors (Ipswich) – @RabowTractorsProud Canari (Norwich) – @proudnariPri of Irons (Wt Ham) – @PriOfIronsProud and Palace (Crystal Palace) – @ProudandPalace. Our GayGooners supporters’ group was given a special send-off by Mikel Arteta and our men's players as they parted our London Colney Trag Centre for the Pri London Para this morng.

After a hiat due to the Covid-19 panmic, we’re celebratg the return of the Pri London Para style wh an open-top, double-cker float, adorned wh rabow lours and the Arsenal and GayGooners logos. As well as beg reprented the para, this week the club and GayGooners also held an event at Emirat Stadium, wh a panel discsg the importance of creatg and matag meangful nnectns between football clubs and their LGBTQ+ supporters.

GAY GOONERS FOTOS

Now their tenth year, the GayGooners have always blazed a trail football after beg the first-ever LGBTQ+ football supporters’ group the UK, as well as the first to attend a Pri In London Para.

Qatar World trailblazers, they have also enuraged other football teams the UK to start their very own dited clubs tailored to gay is hoped that, one day, there will be no need for dited LGBT supporters groups, when homophobia is firmly kicked out the footballg world once and for group’s mpaign officer, Jab Jefferson, adms that time is a ‘long way 23-year-old first realised the Gay Gooners existed when he saw their rabow flag hangg the stands of the told ‘I’d been gog to gam sce I was 7 or 8 and regularly om the age of 14 onwards. ’Membership of the Gay Gooners – which clus straight alli – has reached 1, 370 members across 51 ’s ma history as the first and largt LGBT+ football supporters’ group England and hop to grow even more over the g year. The history of the Gay GoonersOctober 1989 – A group of gay football fans, mostly Arsenal supporters, began meetg the Salmon and Compass pub at Chapel Market Islgton and form the ‘Gay Football Supporters Network’ – over time be a amatr league for gay football players1990s – Several gay Arsenal fans GFSN often met prematch at The Gunners pub and postmatch at the Bank of Friendship pub.

2012 – Stewart secur backg om munitns director Mark Gonnella and CEO Ivan Gazidis for Arsenal support for an official LGBT+ football fan group, lled GayGooners16 Febary 2013 – official lnch of gaygooners.