The Football Association (FA) has said they will investigate alleged homophobic chanting at Old Trafford during the FA Cup third round between Manchester United and Everton.
Similar chants were heard again recently as Chelsea were held 1-1 at Nottingham Forest in their other Premier League game.
Forest’s impressive performance was marred by alleged homophobic chanting by some home supporters towards traveling fans. Chelsea’s official LGBTQ+ supporters group took to Twitter towards the end of the first half to “completely condemn” the chants reportedly heard during a match broadcast live on Sky Sports.
“The club is aware of reports of chants directed at Chelsea supporters by a minority of fans tonight and do not condone any form of discriminatory or offensive behaviour,” Forest said in a statement shortly after the broadcast. The matter will be investigated.”
Serge Aurier of Nottingham Forest, right, celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea at City Ground in Nottingham, England, Sunday, January 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira )
“We strongly condemn the use of the term ‘rental boy’ and we are determined to ban it from our game. We continue to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and with the UK Football Policing Unit regarding the use of this term,” an FA spokesperson told Mirror Football.
While another FA statement read: “We continue to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as the UK Football Policing Unit, regarding the use of this term.
Part of our world in this area has been to provide the relevant authorities with impact statements from LGBTQ+ supporters describing how chants of this nature impact their experience and sense of involvement in football matches, so that a cleaner attitude and understanding of the chant can be determined.
We are firmly against all forms of discrimination and we strive to ensure that our game is a safe environment for everyone, who truly embraces diversity and challenges hateful behavior both on and off the pitch.”