Andrew Tilly and Drew Harrison have followed Leeds United home and away for years.
The friends founded the Premier League club’s official LGBTQ supporters group nearly a decade ago and have seen it grow into one of the UK’s biggest, with hundreds of members.
On occasions, they have overheard fans using homophobic language in the stands, or in the worst instances, shouting or chanting gay slurs towards the pitch. Usually, they feel confident to challenge incidents of discrimination.
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However, at one game this season, they experienced an incident so appalling in nature that they felt they had little option but to walk away.
“Due to homophobic remarks, my friend felt sufficiently intimidated to say he wanted to leave the ground. So we chose to leave,” says Tilly on a new episode of the Football v Homophobia Podcast.
He is highlighting the distressing experience to help support the annual Month of Action for the long-running FvH campaign, which seeks to tackle anti-LGBTQ discrimination at all levels of soccer, all around the world.
This week, the Premier League is launching a new initiative called “With Pride” following the decision to move on Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.
Across two rounds, all matches in the world’s most-watched professional sports league will be dedicated to LGBTQ inclusion.
For Marching Out Together and their fellow fan groups, February — which is also LGBT+ History Month in the U.K. — is a time to not just celebrate, but also educate. They also want to highlight the damage caused by homophobia, which is on the rise in British football.
Data released at the end of last season by the Home Office showed an increase in the number of matches at which anti-LGBTQ incidents were recorded, in both the Premier League and the EFL, the three professional divisions that sit below the top-flight in the men’s pyramid.
Fan who hurled homophobic slurs was with his son at match
Fans are encouraged to report incidents if and when they occur, which is what Tilly and Harrison did during Leeds’ match at Brighton on Nov. 1.
On the podcast episode, Tilly explains: “There was a guy behind us with his young son — shocking that he was with his son — who made a number of homophobic remarks during the game, including referring to Brighton fans as queer b*stards in a chant.”
Brighton striker Danny Welbeck, who previously played for Leeds’ bitter rivals Manchester United, was singled out by the fan, who shouted a number of other offensive anti-gay comments.
“I confronted him and said that his remarks were unacceptable. He was obviously angry, and then he continued with his chants.
“Brighton scored a goal, and he was asking me why I wasn’t celebrating, saying I was “one of them,” and homophobic remarks like that.”
By this stage, Tilly and Harrison had had enough. “We started to leave. A couple of supportive fans around us said we shouldn’t need to leave. They were really decent individuals.”
One of those supportive fans contacted Marching Out Together the following day. “He said he thought what happened was appalling, and that he would be very happy to make a witness statement to get the guy banned from future games.”
By then, a report had already been lodged via a police officer who was in attendance at the game. Tilly was told video footage would be looked at, and he would be contacted in due course.
He also phoned Brighton’s club incident line, and was told any relevant information would be passed on to the local police.
Yet since then, there has been silence. “Despite various efforts chasing up, I’ve heard nothing from West Yorkshire Police, local police, or Brighton as a club.
“I also reported it to Leeds United and to the club’s safety officer. They said that they were unable to do anything about it until they’d got access to video footage and confirmation of the culprit from the Brighton police.”
For Tilly, this was frustrating to hear because their tickets in the away end were purchased through Leeds, as is normal practice for visiting fans. “They must know who is behind me. Sometimes people move seats, but in this instance, I didn’t think they had, and that surely it would be easy for them to identify who the culprit was.
“They said they would try to do that. But again, I’ve not heard anything.”
Power rests with authorities to take homophobia seriously
The experience has left Tilly with several concerns. “What’s disappointing is that it acts as a deterrent to people to report in future. If things aren’t going to get followed up, then what’s the point?
“Prosecutions are appropriate through the police in certain situations, but they can be drawn out, and difficult to secure. It’s much easier for clubs to make decisions.”
While it’s a relatively rare experience for a fan who frequently travels around the country following his team, Tilly recognises that for a lot of LGBTQ people, even just one incident of this type is enough to stop them from going to games altogether.
Reacting to Andrew’s account on the FvH Podcast episode is the chair of Marching Out Together, Steve Wignall, who says the lack of response is “really disappointing.”
“We’ve always been about education,” he says. “However, enough’s enough. In that situation at Brighton, with the language that was being used, there was no amount of education that would have worked.
“You have to go for banning orders and prosecutions, but you have to have the support of the police and the clubs to be able to do that.”
Leeds United and Brighton are among 30 clubs from the Premier League and EFL that have so far signed up in support of Football v Homophobia in February, among more than 150 “FvH Champions” from around the world.
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