Gay group tackles football homophobia

The first gay and lesbian football supporters' group to be officially accepted by a Spanish club has pinned its shield to the wall of Barcelona's stadium and vowed to fight prejudice in one of the world's most homophobic sports.

When England's football players took on Spain in Seville a fortnight ago, journalists were watching home fans so hard for racist abuse that they failed to notice how David Beckham was subjected to a barrage of homophobic insults. "They spent more than a minute chanting 'Beckham maricón' ('Beckham faggot'), said the peña's spokesman, Josep Ribes. "We lodged a complaint about that."

It is a complaint that has since made its way to England's Football Association, which also did not notice the abuse, and on to the sport's global governing body, Fifa. Countering the sort of homophobia shown in the Beckham chants is just one reason why Ribes and friends have founded the country's first gay peña, as the official supporters' groups of Spanish clubs are known.   The Guardian