Homophobia verses alleged racist remarks

[Assassin]

The FA have just handed out punishment against 2 players (both scum players at the time) Morrison and Macheda, paultry fines of £7000 and £15000. However, alleged racist remark against a scum player result in a 8 game ban and a fine.

Level playing field. I think not. The homophobic cases were cut and dry as everything was in writing for all to see. The other, well we all know the story......

[ChesterDave]

They also fined a further 2 players, and theyir total fine was about £10,000.

Clearly the FA does not value homosexual supporters as much as its inclusion program suggests

[Norbs]

It's ****ing disgraceful and I try not to think about it too much.

Regarding racism first, hopefully I'm not opening a can of worms here. In terms of racism by football clubs as employers, football seems to be being run with equal opportunities. All players have the chance to reach the pinnacle of their game regardless of their background, rightfully. Earnings and stature are unhindered by race and fans across all races are idolised equally. Which is how it should be. There is very little sign of discrimination which is a great thing, and racism is stamped on immediately and not tolerated. The English leagues are a shining example of this, right through to grass roots. I'm not talking about the FA, I'm talking about 'the game'.

Next we look at sexuality in the game and it's clear that there's very little being done to stamp out this sort of discrimination in the same way. It may not be confined to football but it certainly is confined to male sports which tells me everything I need to know about the dusty old suits at the top of the game. I almost feel as if they do nothing because they don't want to which leads me to wonder if they only act on racism because they feel it's necessary to and because they have no option. One factor could be that, where race is something apparent to all, sexuality is something that absolutely isn't.

I've never really looked it to women sports but I'm pretty sure that discrimination and 'outing' of lesbians doesn't exist in the same way. It could of course be my own misconception that there are a lot more gay women in sport than males but I don't believe that women lie in fear of being exposed as gay. What is most upsetting, regarding male sexuality in high profile sport, is that it is something that is of absolutely no interest and yet there seems to be a huge emphasis by the media to try and find out which footballers are gay. This level of stress on the part of the player has lead to players suicides, as we know, but the cause of this stress is just as much borne from within the game as it is from the terraces.

[focusedonfootball]

homophobia v racism. Makes me pine for the days when the general football threads were full of things like Arsenal v Chelsea.

[Norbs]

Good idea, let's sweep it under the carpet

[Kenneth]

He called some abuser on twitter a stupid gay. What kind of punishment do people expect to be handed down for such a dastardly deed?

[little dave hedgehog]

one equal to calling some dickhead a negro in public?

[Kenneth]

why? It wasn't a personal insult based on someone's sexuality. It was using the word gay as a random insult. Who is the victim?

[tsb]

Good idea, let's sweep it under the carpet

Or just stick it in the closet

[ChesterDave]

why? It wasn't a personal insult based on someone's sexuality. It was using the word gay as a random insult. Who is the victim?

You answered your own question. Gay was used as an insult. Suggesting that it is a negative thing.

[Kenneth]

You answered your own question. Gay was used as an insult. Suggesting that it is a negative thing.

I don't think I did. Negative use of the word gay or not, I don't see how the cases are equivalent.

[Gibbo]

I think its clear it wasn't meant in a homophobic manner.

Gay is a term used by most children under the age of 20 to describe something nowerdays, "It's just gay" is a term I hear out of my younger brother mouth all of the time.

There's a difference between immaturity and homophobia, comparing calling someone gay and calling someone a negro is like comparing a kitten to a tiger.

[Kenneth]

I think the point is that he didn't know if the guy was gay or not. Gay wasn't used as a direct insult, rather a general one. And that's before getting on to the issue of it not being directly related to football, ie on the pitch, rather in someones personal time on twitter where the jurisdiction of the FA is questionable.

[The_weatherman]

Who called whom a negro though?

[saj]

A gay person at work was telling me a story. He said he'd taken up a new hobby. The exact words he said to me were, "I know this sounds really GAY but I have taken up this new kind of yoga and it's really tough..."

Even a gay person was using the word "Gay" in a different context. The word does have other meanings I would say, both official and non official ones.