Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2022–23 season, Norwich compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their home games at Carrow Road and have a long-standing rivalry with East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town, with whom they have contested the East Anglian derby since 1902.
Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out publicly later in his career, becoming the first professional footballer to be openly gay. He was also one of the first footballers to command a £1 million transfer fee, with his transfer from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981, and had varying levels of success as a player afterwards, until he retired in 1997.
Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum.
Sue Louise Sanders is Emeritus Professor Harvey Milk Institute 2015. She is, an "out and proud" lesbian, a British LGBT rights activist who has specialized in challenging oppression in the public and voluntary sectors for over forty years.
John Fashanu is an English television presenter and former professional footballer.
Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) is a charity based in the United Kingdom which "affirms the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people and reduces discrimination experienced because of sexual orientation or gender identity." Since 2003, EACH has delivered training and consultancy services on sexuality and gender identity matters across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. It also provides support to those affected by homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying through its nationwide, freephone helpline.
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may also be related to religious beliefs. Negative attitudes towards transgender and transsexual people are known as transphobia.
The Norwich City Player of the Season award is voted for annually by Norwich City's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. As a mark of respect, the trophy is named The Barry Butler memorial trophy, after the club captain who was killed in a car accident on 9 April 1966.
Duncan Scott Forbes was a Scottish professional footballer. He spent 33 years at Norwich City, 13 as a player, seven on the commercial staff and 13 as chief scout. The Times noted his aggressive defending by writing "Forbes got his customary booking; the referee ought to take his name in the changing room rather than on the pitch thus saving time."
The Gay Football Supporters Network ("GFSN") is a U.K. non-profit organisation founded in early 1989 by a small group of gay football fans. This group went on to campaign for the view that homosexuality did not preclude an active interest in and support for the game and the GFSN now encompasses Supporting, Campaigning and Playing elements.
While rights have advanced significantly since the start of the 21st century, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Georgia still face some legal challenges that non-LGBT people do not experience. Georgia is one of only a few countries in the former Soviet space that directly prohibits discrimination against all LGBT people in legislation, labor-related or otherwise. Since 2012, Georgian law has considered crimes committed on the grounds of one's sexual orientation or gender identity an aggravating factor in prosecution. Despite this, homosexuality is still considered a major deviation from the highly traditional Orthodox Christian values prevalent in the country, where public discussions of sexuality in general tend to be viewed in a highly negative light. Consequently, homosexuals are often targets of abuse and physical violence, often actively encouraged by religious leaders. According to the 2021 International Social Survey Programme (ISSIP) study, 84% of the Georgian public thinks that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are always wrong, which is the highest score in Europe.
Homosexuality in English football has been described as a taboo subject by both players and the media. As of 2022, there is only one openly gay male footballer in England's top four men's divisions, Jake Daniels, a forward for Blackpool F.C. Some, such as Peter Clayton, who chairs the FA's "Homophobia in Football" working group, have argued that, in some clubs, there are barriers to male players "coming out", as they are commercial assets which may be damaged.
Homophobia has been widespread in men's association football, also known as soccer, throughout the world. Journalist Matt Williams stated that being a gay professional player in football is still a taboo, which journalist Simon Barnes has said will never change. In February 2013, football magazine When Saturday Comes described homosexuality as a "continuing taboo" in the sport. John Amaechi, the first NBA player to come out, has blamed football's "toxic" culture for the lack of openly gay players, while English former footballer Clarke Carlisle has called for more education to be given to players to combat homophobia. In June 2022, it was revealed that homophobia made up the majority of abuse aimed at footballers, 40% for men and 27% for women.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-heterosexual or non-cisgender (LGBTQ+) community is prevalent within sports across the world.
Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBT individuals come from lack of education around the LGBT community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.
The Russian federal law "for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating a Denial of Traditional Family Values", also referred to in English-language media as Russia's gay propaganda law or anti-gay law, is a bill that was unanimously approved by the State Duma on 11 June 2013, then unanimously approved by the Federation Council on 27 June 2013 and was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 30 June 2013.
The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) is a charitable organization whose programming works to stop bullying, discrimination and homophobia in schools and communities in Canada, and abroad. Through workshops, presentations, training conferences, and by supporting youth initiatives, they engage youth in celebrating diversity of gender identity, gender expression, and romantic orientation and/or sexual orientation.
Amal Fashanu is a presenter, journalist, fashion designer and activist against homophobia in sport. She produced a BBC3 documentary Britain’s Gay Footballers. She is the founder and CEO of the Justin Fashanu Foundation, as well as Black Heart Label, a clothing brand designed to promote activism through fashion, and Amal Fashanu Handbags. In 2012, Fashanu was a contributor to David Cameron's summit on discrimination in sport.
Gay Gooners is Arsenal FC's official supporters' group for LGBT+ fans, formed with the aim of fighting homophobia in football. They are the first and largest LGBT+ fans group in England, with over a thousand of members in the UK and overseas. Gay gooners is a social group that provides a safe space for LGBT Arsenal fans to come together and attend games as one. The formation of Gay gooners encouraged other football teams in the UK to start their very own dedicated clubs tailored to gay supporters
