A campaign to show solidarity with gay footballers has caused controversy because of its slogan.
The plan is to have footballers in all the 134 professional clubs wearing rainbow laces to show their support for gay footballers. The laces have been made and distributed by the betting agency Paddy Power and Stonewall.
So far so good. But the problem for some campaigners is the Paddy Power promotional literature, a billboard poster that bears the slogan ‘We don’t care which team you play for’ and the strapline ‘Right behind Gay Footballers’.
Whilst Paddy Power and Stonewall defend the wording, Stonewall claiming it ‘uses the language of the fans and players’, Football versus Homophobia and Pride Sport are concerned that the innuendo of the strapline actually reinforces stereotypes about gay men and reflects the language of the bully and the homophobe.
Professional footballer Joey Barton supported the campaign from the outset and Hary Lineker has asked for a pair of the rainbow laces.
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