Department of Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
J Homosex. 2023 Jul 3;70(8):1653-1673. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2022.2040927. Epub 2022 Feb 14.
In a survey of 3,500 association football fans conducted by members of the research team over a decade ago, most participants predicted that at least one gay football player would feel comfortable enough to disclose their sexuality publicly by 2014, and that many other players would follow this lead in the following years. Ten years on, gay players can be found in all major sports, but association football remains an outlier. Using an anonymous online survey, we invited football fans to advance their own views on why events have not transpired as expected. A sample of 2663 participants revealed: (a) 95% would welcome openly gay players, meaning by implication, football culture is a more gay-friendly environment than wider society; (b) Participants attributed the continued silence of gay players to football's gatekeepers e.g., agents, managers, and owners; (c) Paradoxically, homophobic language is used by fans but is not considered malicious.
在研究团队成员十年前对 3500 名足球迷进行的一项调查中，大多数参与者预测，到 2014 年，至少会有一名同性恋足球运动员感到足够舒适，可以公开透露自己的性取向，并且在随后的几年中，许多其他运动员也会效仿这一做法。十年过去了，同性恋运动员已经出现在所有主要的体育运动中，但足球仍然是个例外。我们使用匿名在线调查，邀请足球迷们就为什么事情没有像预期的那样发展发表自己的看法。2663 名参与者的样本显示：(a)95%的人会欢迎公开的同性恋运动员，这意味着足球文化比更广泛的社会更包容同性恋；(b)参与者将同性恋运动员的持续沉默归因于足球的守门员，例如经纪人、经理和老板；(c)矛盾的是，球迷使用恐同语言，但并不认为这是恶意的。
