Approximately 6% of the UK population is gay, yet homophobia in sport remains a serious issue, potentially emerging as a bigger problem than racism and other forms of discrimination. This report considers recent events and the long term effects and repercussions felt from homophobia, in the context of all levels of sport from children taking part in school games lessons to Olympians and Premier League footballers. It presents evidence from written submissions across a number of sports, as well as interviews with a number of key stakeholders. Reccommendations include, but are not limited to:
- Sports bodies should extend work in schools to explicitly address the problem of homophobia.
- Anti-LGB language should be treated in the same way as other offensive language, whether racist, sexist or denigrating any other group.
- Football clubs should take a tougher approach to incidents of homophobic abuse, issuing immediate bans.
- NGBs should commit funds and resources to support further and more visible interventions as part of the Rainbow Laces campaign, such as television and cinema advertisements, over a sustained period of time.
- NGBs should produce targeted guidance and training for grassroots clubs.

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4 years ago  
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  • United Kingdom