Today Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP asked an urgent question to the the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the racist abuse that was aimed at England players in their match against Bulgaria.
The APPG welcomes this important question, and applauds the several members who raised the ongoing issue of homophobia in sport and its intersections with the pervasive racism within football (previously debated in both Houses several times this year). We welcome the Minister’s stated support to address this.
APPG Member Luke Pollard’s question is below:
As a very proud “out” football player in my youth—I was fabulous in defence and more fabulous than good at stopping surges down the right wing—I recognise that the people who gave me homophobic abuse were frequently the same as those who gave out racist and misogynistic abuse as well. May I ask the Minister what steps he can take to encourage clubs right across the country to show in our games this weekend that there is no place for racism or homophobia at the international or the grassroots level anywhere in our country?
Damian Collins MP contributed:
I completely support the comments from Members on both sides of the House on how UEFA should demonstrate that real sanctions will be applied against national FAs that allow this to happen in their stadiums. Does the Minister agree that the Government’s proposals to legislate on online harms is an opportunity to look at the vile racist abuse that many footballers in this country receive on social media, which is a growing problem, and that we should look again at the status of homophobic abuse in sports stadiums in this country, too? There are big concerns about the increase in homophobia, and we should look again at the Football (Offences) Act 1991 to make homophobic abuse illegal in the same way as racist abuse so that both have the same status in law.
The full transcript can be found here.
The Commons Library did a briefing on the same topic ahead of an Opposition Day debate on Racism in sport which took place on Wednesday 22 May 2019.