Members of GayGooners share what Pri month means to them
Contents:
- 'WE LOVE FOOTBALL AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE' - HOW THE GAY GOONERS AND ARSENAL ARE TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA
- ARSENAL’S GAY GOONERS AMONG ENGLISH LGBT SOCCER FAN GROUPS PHG FOR CLN
- GAY GOONERS: AT THE FOREONT OF FAN CLN
- ARSENAL SHOW SUPPORT FOR GAYGOONERS & LGBTQ+ FANS WH 'LOVE IS LOVE' BANNERS OUTSI EMIRAT STADIUM AHEAD OF BRENTFORD GAME
- RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH
'WE LOVE FOOTBALL AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE' - HOW THE GAY GOONERS AND ARSENAL ARE TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA
The Gay Gooners have teamed up wh Arsenal to make the Emirat a more welg place for members of the LGBT+ muny * arsenal gay fans *
Gay Gooners. Gay Gooners is Arsenal Football Club’s official supporters’ group for LGBT+ fans. 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 holds meet-ups near Emirat Stadium before home fixtur, group trips to away gam and anis regular social events. 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”. The club works directly wh members of the Gay Gooners to tackle anti-LGBT+ discrimatn football by vg members to take part cln trag for staff.
Gay Gooners also send a team to the club’s annual Arsenal for Everyone tournament at the muny hub. Gay Gooners aim to rid football of the surg that are homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (Picture: Metro/Arsenal/Getty)‘I don’t give a toss that you’re LGBT, you’re an Arsenal fan and you hate Spurs!
ARSENAL’S GAY GOONERS AMONG ENGLISH LGBT SOCCER FAN GROUPS PHG FOR CLN
* arsenal gay fans *
That is the roundg msage om the -chair of Gay Gooners, Arsenal’s official supporters’ group for LGBT+ fans, Carl Fearn, who wants all fans to be treated equally, no matter their sexualy or genr. Gay Gooners is the official Arsenal supporters’ group for LGBT+ fans (Picture: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Imag)‘I was married for 12 years before I me out, ’ says Fearn. That filters to what the Gay Gooners are all about at heart.
GAY GOONERS: AT THE FOREONT OF FAN CLN
Arsenal are celebratg GayGooners and their LGBTQ+ fans durg Saturday's game agast Brentford the Premier League. * arsenal gay fans *
Gay Gooners, who have garnered over 1, 100 members all seven ntents sce the group’s ceptn 2013, are helpg to create a safer environment for LGBT+ fans.
It’s a social group for LGBT+ Arsenal supporters and their iends to provi a safe space which they n meet up, share tickets, anise trips to away gam and mpaign to rid football of the surg that are homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. The Gay Gooners banner was unveiled by club legend Pat Rice MBE (Picture: Getty)What’s so special about the group is how has been embraced by Arsenal.
The north London club display the Gay Gooners banner at the Emirat Stadium and ve members to take part cln trag for staff, while the group reprent the Gunners at the annual London Pri para. Arsenal are vtigatg homophobic abe om fans durg a Premier League clash agast Brighton April, where two supporters were ejected om the Emirat Stadium. In the last week of the 2021/22 mpaign, Gay Gooners noted three cints volvg transphobia and homophobia directed towards members of the group.
ARSENAL SHOW SUPPORT FOR GAYGOONERS & LGBTQ+ FANS WH 'LOVE IS LOVE' BANNERS OUTSI EMIRAT STADIUM AHEAD OF BRENTFORD GAME
Goal's seri on supporters' groups reprentg LGBT+ fans ntu at Arsenal wh the Gay Gooners * arsenal gay fans *
‘In the last week of the season, we as a group had three s of transphobia and homophobia agast our members of which I was one. A group of teenage lads thought they would throw homophobic abe at me.
Carl Fearn wh Arsenal mast Gunnerss (Picture: Getty)Fearn nonts homophobic abers his own diplomatic way, spe standg at over 6’4″ stature, and rells a particularly fond scenar which an aber turned to an ally. He rerc the pot that alli are val, revealg that around 10 per cent of Gay Gooners members intify as straight, but are nohels val supportg the group and speakg out agast discrimatn.
RABOW LAC: GAY GOONERS -CHAIR GRATEFUL FOR CLUB'S YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT AHEAD OF ARSENAL VS NEWSTLE MATCH
‘We met up a bar and I was so exced bee I had a flag ma for the game which had the Gay Gooners logo on and at the bottom: “Proudly on tour”. I said, “I’m a member of the Gay Gooners and this is the sort of chant that we’d like to have retired”. Obvly was beg said homophobilly.
Jake Daniels is the first male profsnal footballer England to e out as gay 32 years (Picture: Sky Sports)In May, Blackpool striker Jake Daniels beme the first male profsnal player English football to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Patrice Evra recently opened up on the homophobic views aired by some of his former Wt Ham team-mat, claimg they would ll for a gay player to leave the club and refe to share a post-match shower room wh them.
Fearn feels footballg thori such as the FA, FIFA and UEFA are somewhat plic that gay footballers are unrreprented posns of power. ‘They brg up this issue of showerg wh gay people and ’s like, “Don’t flatter yourself a gay man don’t tomatilly thk every man on the pla is God’s gift”.