A stadium for everyone
Celebrating 10 years of the GayGooners tackling homophobia in football
The world of football has a reputation.
With no openly gay players in England’s top four divisions, and only one man in Premier League history to publicly come out, homophobia persists in men’s football and homophobic chants are rife in stadiums.
For queer football fans, the men’s game hasn’t been the most welcoming or inclusive of spaces.
That’s where the GayGooners come in.
The GayGooners' banner at the Emirates. Image: Meg Firth
The GayGooners' banner at the Emirates. Image: Meg Firth
GayGooners members before a game at the Emirates. Image: GayGooners
GayGooners members before a game at the Emirates. Image: GayGooners
The GayGooners at London Pride 2019. Image: GayGooners
The GayGooners at London Pride 2019. Image: GayGooners
Who are the GayGooners?
The GayGooners are England’s first and largest LGBT+ football supporters club, founded in 2013 as a safe space for LGBT+ Arsenal fans to come together and attend games as a group.
The group works closely with Arsenal FC to kick out homophobia in football and remind fans that Arsenal is for everyone.
The creation of the group was at the hands of Stuart Selby, who oversaw the Arsenal Supporters Forum at the time and was a voice in the wilderness for LBGT+ rights at football matches.
“We were beginning to claim our space in football," Selby recollected. "The homophobic abuse in football at that time was disgusting. The threat of violence was never far away.”
Selby worked with Arsenal's then-CEO Ivan Gazidis and Communications Director Mark Gonella to tackle the invisibility of LGBT+ supporters.
The GayGooners was born during LGBT+ History Month that year with 50 original members, before swelling when the group marched as the first ever football club supporters group at London Pride.
“It was an unforgettable day and it felt like we were making a bit of our own history,” Selby reminisced.
The GayGooners became an official supporters group, meeting on a regular basis to discuss issues and quietly work in the background to eradicate the difficulties faced by LGBT+ fans at matches.
For co-chair Carl Fearn, the GayGooners allowed him to fall in love with the game that he had always followed but never felt a connection to.
Fearn became an Arsenal fan by chance, when his mother bought him the cheapest shirt for him to play football in. It happened to be an Arsenal shirt, and Fearn has been a proud Gooner ever since.
He followed every fixture the Gunners played but never went to a game. Then, during the 2018 World Cup, he went to his first GayGooners meet-up and they persuaded him to go to a game with them.
As a young gay man, Fearn tried to hide his queer identity out of fear for being found out. Today, he hopes the younger members of the GayGooners don’t have to go through what he went through and feel safe going to games as their authentic selves and as part of the group.
“I didn’t want the younger members of the group to have to experience the type of fear and dread that I did. I want them to go to football games and not have to worry about their identity.”
Going to the final game of the season with the GayGooners
On a sunny bank holiday afternoon in north London, the streets were red with Arsenal shirts as they made their way to the Emirates for the final game of the season. Fans lovingly jostled into their favourite pubs for their pre-match rituals, while across the road at the stadium players warmed up for what would be a 5-0 win against Wolves.
In one Holloway Road pub, the GayGooners gathered amongst their usual cluster of tables reserved always for them. The group is England’s largest official supporters group for LGBT+ fans and members travel from far and wide to share their love for Arsenal together.
Theo, a young Gooner from Paris, catches up with the rest of the group after commuting to Highbury on the Eurostar. Lucas, another committed Arsenal fan, is fresh off a plane from Germany and is apologising for his hand luggage getting in the way as other GayGooners join the flock before the game.
Val, who joined the GayGooners after waving her Arsenal backpack at the group during a London Pride march years ago, jokingly reminds Lucas that there are some good teams in Germany.
“Yes, but they’re not Arsenal!” retorted the German Gooner.
For Val, seeing the GayGooners official banner pasted on the stands is particularly special. Speaking to Arsenal for the official programme, Val said: “To me it says to home and away supporters that we are here and we are part of the support.
“But also it says it to the players, because we know there is an issue with there being no out players in the men’s game. I think it’s important that they know that they’re not alone.
“There’s LGBT+ people in the ground supporting the team, and therefore we’ll be supporting players that come out.”
The impact of the GayGooners' banner
The GayGooners' banner at the Clock End. Image: Meg Firth
The GayGooners' banner at the Clock End. Image: Meg Firth
The GayGooners’ continued presence inside Emirates Stadium helps LGBT+ fans feel accepted in an environment that historically hasn’t been kind to them.
The GayGooners banner overlooking the stadium’s Clock End has played an integral part to making both fans and players welcome.
Arsenal forward Katie McCabe came to the Emirates long before signing for the club and saw the GayGooners banner in the stands. She told the GayGooners that when she saw that banner she knew she would be welcome at Arsenal.
During Arsenal’s LGBT+ History Month coverage, the Ireland captain recalled: “I remember seeing the GayGooners flag hanging inside the stadium and it was massive for me.
“Immediately I felt a part of it and I felt a part of the club. I remember thinking ‘OK, if I’m gay here, that’s absolutely fine’.
“It was a great factor knowing that when the day did come that Arsenal wanted to sign me, I knew I was going to be accepted.
“That was warming for me and it is credit to all the work GayGooners have done, and that the club have done in supporting them.”
The GayGooners flag is part of the Emirates' supporters mural. Image: Meg Firth
The GayGooners flag is part of the Emirates' supporters mural. Image: Meg Firth
Carl with the Gunnersaurus. Image: GayGooners
Carl with the Gunnersaurus. Image: GayGooners
Homophobia in football
Despite the continuous work the GayGooners do alongside Arsenal and campaigns such as Kick It Out and Rainbow Laces, homophobia at games is still an issue.
This reality is reflective of the hate that is still rife today’s society. In 2022, YouGov reported that half of Britons and football fans consider homophobia to be a serious problem in professional football.
The survey revealed that 51-52% of 2,214 Britons, including 341 who said they are "very interested" in football, thought that homophobia was an issue, with 42% saying the situation has improved in the last decade and one in seven (14%) believing homophobia has become more of a problem in professional football in the last ten years.
More specifically, there has been a rise in transphobic abuse in football recently as the increased visibility of trans and non-binary folk has become more of a point for toxic debate in social and traditional media.
“There is still work to be done,” said Fearn, referring to improving the feeling of inclusion and safety for trans members of the GayGooners at games.
Ultimately, being able to watch football without fear of being harassed or judged is the main aim for the GayGooners.
'We're Arsenal fans,' Fearn concludes. 'And Arsenal is for everyone."
Built with Shorthand