Look, it's a football thread, but not one about how Man City are buying, how many games Kolo Toure missed through injury last season or which teams haven't paid tax for the last six months and are in trouble because of it!

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Stop_gay_abuse_in_football,_say_fans&in_article_id=718354&in_page_id=34

My experience is completely anecdotal, but I've never noticed any overt homophobia at any football game I've been too. Sometimes the atmosphere is, although not heated or hostile, charged in a very masculine, 'geezerish' way and without meaning to sound patronising, I can see why a whole lot of traditionally-masculine men getting riled up and screaming at the pitch could intimidate people in the crowd who didn't feel part of that male construct.

I'm not sure that I really agree with Stonewall's assertion that there must be at least 60 homosexual footballers and the fact that they haven't come out is evidence that football/football fans are homophobic. It's a bit tautological: if football is indeed homophobic, then it stands to reason that not many gay people fancy a career in it. But that's typical of Stonewall really.

Anyway, it's not something I'd thought too much about until I read the Metro this morning and I'm curious to see what other people think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifN1wHjcT7E