Rainbow laces campaign

[domalino]

On the same basis I have no interest in whether our fans/ players/ management etc are homosexual so why do we need a campaign regarding it? I pay for a season ticket to watch City (I don't use it much as I don't live in England) - not watch displays about homosexuality etc.

For me if someone says something at a football match which is offensive to someone's sexuality they should be punished as per the law, just as you would be punished for saying something offensive about someone's race and that's it. All this other nonsense distracts from what im paying my money for - to watch City hopefully win.

What exactly is your point, you're upset we were part of a campaign?

As for this:

On the same basis I have no interest in whether our fans/ players/ management etc are homosexual so why do we need a campaign regarding it?

Your view is incredibly narrow. Yes YOU don't care about somebodies sexuality, guess what? Not everything is about you. Other people are prejudicial about these things, and I imagine it's incredibly powerful for anyone - especially young people - struggling with being LGBT or whatever to see that their club doesn't care about it. The fans don't care, that even if their family/friends/whoever might be raging homophobes and disown them, their football club won't and we'll still welcome them into the fold as a City fan.

 

[80s Shorts]

I couldn't see one player wearing them - and am pretty sure it would have been highlighted if they did (just as it was that Vardy wore them).

In terms of the captains arm band I don't think its proper to force someone to wear that - and as Fernandinho is an evangelical Christian its likely to be against his beliefs whether you agree with them or not.

In terms of the whole campaign I don't think it should have happened - someone's sexuality holds no interest to me and what someone gets up to behind closed doors is up to them and doesn't concern me. In the same way someone's religion is a private matter and whilst it will no doubt influence how they behave in public, and could well influence their opinions on homosexuality that's between them and their God and Im not going to attack them for it.

For someone whom this holds no interest you seem unable to shut up about it.

 

[geoff clipp]

On the same basis I have no interest in whether our fans/ players/ management etc are homosexual so why do we need a campaign regarding it? I pay for a season ticket to watch City (I don't use it much as I don't live in England) - not watch displays about homosexuality etc.

For me if someone says something at a football match which is offensive to someone's sexuality they should be punished as per the law, just as you would be punished for saying something offensive about someone's race and that's it. All this other nonsense distracts from what im paying my money for - to watch City hopefully win.

As far as i'm aware, paying for your season ticket to watch City has allowed you to do just that. It's not like all games were called off and everybody forced to watch an educational video for 90 minutes instead. I have literally no idea why you've found it such a distraction. A person who genuinely had no interest one way or another could quite easily have just ignored it. I doubt the campaign was barely noticed by my dad for instance, which is fine, as he genuinely wouldn't care if somebody was gay or not and nor would he interpret a gesture like this as something being forced on him. The people taking time out of their day to sound off about it three days after the event are making it a distraction for themselves.

As has been pointed out several times, the club made a gesture that wasn't intended to be a "display about homosexuality" as you've interpreted it. It was just a shout out to a type of fan, who might have followed the club through thick and thin but hasn't always felt safe or welcome at games, that they actually ARE welcome and that anybody who wants to give them shit about it does not speak for them. Why that's a problem for you, or anybody else, I don't know.

It's also ridiculous for you to speculate how Fernandinho felt about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure if it was that much of a problem that he could have discreetly asked that someone else wear the armband that day. The way it's been passed around this season it's not like anyone would have noticed if somebody else had it for the day. That said, any player that finds the idea of the club making sure that all fans from all walks of life are welcome can leave if they don't like it.

 

[Bozo]

On the same basis I have no interest in whether our fans/ players/ management etc are homosexual so why do we need a campaign regarding it? I pay for a season ticket to watch City (I don't use it much as I don't live in England) - not watch displays about homosexuality etc.

For me if someone says something at a football match which is offensive to someone's sexuality they should be punished as per the law, just as you would be punished for saying something offensive about someone's race and that's it. All this other nonsense distracts from what im paying my money for - to watch City hopefully win.

That 'nonsense' is just a fairly small gesture towards a large part of our community. There are campaigns because it's a huge issue which genuinely affects people's lives, and gestures like this help towards a better future.

 

[stony]

As far as i'm aware, paying for your season ticket to watch City has allowed you to do just that. It's not like all games were called off and everybody forced to watch an educational video for 90 minutes instead. I have literally no idea why you've found it such a distraction. A person who genuinely had no interest one way or another could quite easily have just ignored it. I doubt the campaign was barely noticed by my dad for instance, which is fine, as he genuinely wouldn't care if somebody was gay or not and nor would he interpret a gesture like this as something being forced on him. The people taking time out of their day to sound off about it three days after the event are making it a distraction for themselves.

As has been pointed out several times, the club made a gesture that wasn't intended to be a "display about homosexuality" as you've interpreted it. It was just a shout out to a type of fan, who might have followed the club through thick and thin but hasn't always felt safe or welcome at games, that they actually ARE welcome and that anybody who wants to give them shit about it does not speak for them. Why that's a problem for you, or anybody else, I don't know.

It's also ridiculous for you to speculate how Fernandinho felt about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure if it was that much of a problem that he could have discreetly asked that someone else wear the armband that day. The way it's been passed around this season it's not like anyone would have noticed if somebody else had it for the day. That said, any player that finds the idea of the club making sure that all fans from all walks of life are welcome can leave if they don't like it.

Well said Geoff.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

I couldn't see one player wearing them - and am pretty sure it would have been highlighted if they did (just as it was that Vardy wore them).

In terms of the captains arm band I don't think its proper to force someone to wear that - and as Fernandinho is an evangelical Christian its likely to be against his beliefs whether you agree with them or not.

In terms of the whole campaign I don't think it should have happened - someone's sexuality holds no interest to me and what someone gets up to behind closed doors is up to them and doesn't concern me. In the same way someone's religion is a private matter and whilst it will no doubt influence how they behave in public, and could well influence their opinions on homosexuality that's between them and their God and Im not going to attack them for it.

But people are talking like they've just picked an issue at random and decided to campaign for it. The issue is directly related to football in the same way that the Kick It Out campaign is. It's about making playing and watching football accessible to a group that have traditionally felt excluded, and making gay players (which definitely exist) feel supported should they choose to come out.

This campaign has far more to do with football that, for example, the poppy campaign that everyone lost their shit about a few weeks ago.

 

[GortonBlue62]

That 'nonsense' is just a fairly small gesture towards a large part of our community. There are campaigns because it's a huge issue which genuinely affects people's lives, and gestures like this help towards a better future.

At least get your facts straight while you are emoting so publicly.

(UK 2015)

Heterosexual - 93.7%
Gay/Lesbian - 1.1%
Bisexual - 0.6%
Other - 0.4%
No Answer - 4.1%

The LGBT community is a small, highly vocal group and in the UK in 2016 they are not really being discriminated against.

 

[smithandwesson2]

At least get your facts straight while you are emoting so publicly.

(UK 2015)

Heterosexual - 93.7%
Gay/Lesbian - 1.1%
Bisexual - 0.6%
Other - 0.4%
No Answer - 4.1%

The LGBT community is a small, highly vocal group and in the UK in 2016 they are not really being discriminated against.

Are those the figures that were obtained by asking around 180,000 people about their sexuality? These figures are disputed and it's estimated that the figure is more like 5-7% of the UK population.

Regardless of the figures, it's a positive thing from the premier league as it seems like there's such a stigma around homosexuality in football. To say that the discrimination doesn't really exist now is laughable.

How many openly gay professional footballers are there?

 

[Bozo]

At least get your facts straight while you are emoting so publicly.

(UK 2015)

Heterosexual - 93.7%
Gay/Lesbian - 1.1%
Bisexual - 0.6%
Other - 0.4%
No Answer - 4.1%

The LGBT community is a small, highly vocal group and in the UK in 2016 they are not really being discriminated against.

Haha, thanks for your input. Wasn't really stating it as fact, but Manchester's LGBT community is one of the biggest in the UK. So, I'd say that's a large part of our community. Discrimination is still very much a problem. Why are there no openly gay Premier League footballers if they're 'not really being discriminated against'? Gay (male) friends of mine don't hold hands in public, because they'll get some kind of abuse.

 

[Manchester33]

At least get your facts straight while you are emoting so publicly.

(UK 2015)

Heterosexual - 93.7%
Gay/Lesbian - 1.1%
Bisexual - 0.6%
Other - 0.4%
No Answer - 4.1%

The LGBT community is a small, highly vocal group and in the UK in 2016 they are not really being discriminated against.

If you genuinely believe that then you're just plain wrong. Let's see on Saturday how many times people sing 'Chelsea rent boys'. The premiership is a GLOBAL brand. We've been enlightened and we should all back a moral crusade into the parts of the world where being gay is punishable by law. Just because someone belongs to a 'highly vocal minority' doesn't mean their rights to live in a safe community are null and void.

That stat you've posted is probably incorrect because there's always a 'dark figure' when discussing a taboo subject (hence the no answer brigade). If it's 5% that's 1 in 20 people in the country who would describe themselves as being LGBT. In Manchester I'd argue it will be even higher than the national average (same with places like Brighton). So In a community like ours these campaigns are definitely necessary.

On the same basis I have no interest in whether our fans/ players/ management etc are homosexual so why do we need a campaign regarding it? I pay for a season ticket to watch City (I don't use it much as I don't live in England) - not watch displays about homosexuality etc.

For me if someone says something at a football match which is offensive to someone's sexuality they should be punished as per the law, just as you would be punished for saying something offensive about someone's race and that's it. All this other nonsense distracts from what im paying my money for - to watch City hopefully win.

You might not be bothered, but other people will be. This campaign has got people talking - it's shown that the majority of City fans are enlightened and will hopefully encourage lots of younger men and women will feel more comfortable living the way they were born.