For debate in the Standing Committee — see Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure

Doc. 9988

22 October 2003

Lesbians and Gays in Sport

Report

Committee on Culture, Science and Education

Rapporteur: Mr Tony Banks, United Kingdom, Socialist Group

Summary

Sport is a key factor in social integration and participation in sport should be open to all. Discrimination against lesbians and gays should not be tolerated in Council of Europe member states.

The Parliamentary Assembly believes that homophobia in sport should be combated on the same grounds as racism and other forms of discrimination and makes specific recommendations to member states, to sports organisations and to the Committee of Ministers.

I. Draft recommendation

1. The Parliamentary Assembly has expressed itself against discrimination in sport in Resolution 1092 (1996) on non-discrimination against women in sport.

2. It recalls that the Olympic Charter states that "any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement".

3. Discrimination based on sexual orientation goes against the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocol No. 12, Article 1 on the general prohibition of discrimination, and is not acceptable in Council of Europe member states.

4. Sport is a key factor in social integration and the European Sports Charter states that participation in sport should be open to all.

5. Gays and lesbians complain that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to their participation in sports activities both in regular sports organisations and at school.

6. The Assembly believes that homophobia in sport, both among participants and in their relations with spectators, should be combated on the same grounds as racism and other forms of discrimination.

7. The Assembly therefore calls on member states to:

i.       launch active campaigns against homophobia in sport and widen existing campaigns against xenophobia in sport to include homophobia;

ii.       include homophobia and abusive language directed at gays and lesbians as grounds for accusation of discrimination and harassment for sexual orientation;

iii.       make homophobic chanting at or around sports events a criminal offence, as with racist chanting;

iv.       involve NGOs from the gay and lesbian community in their sports campaigns and in all other necessary confidence-building steps.

8. The Assembly also calls on European sports organisations to:

i.       make homophobic chanting and other homophobic abuse an offence against their constitutions, as it is already being done for xenophobic and racist chanting and other abuse;

ii.       call upon UEFA to adapt its “ten point plan for professional football clubs” so as to include action against homophobia;

iii.       adopt or adapt practical guidelines for professional sports clubs against all discrimination, including racism, xenophobia, gender and homophobia and launch active campaigns against homophobia in sport and widen existing campaigns against xenophobia in sport to include homophobia.

9. Finally the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. extend the grounds listed in Article 4 of the European Sports Charter with discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation;

ii.       add homophobia and discrimination in sport and education in the preparation of the 10^th Conference of Sports Ministers in 2004;

iii.        call upon the National Ambassadors for Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play to include this element in their mission;

iv.       consider including the issue of homophobia in the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sport Events.

II.       Explanatory memorandum

by Mr Banks,

Introduction

The Council of Europe plays a major role in human rights. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) forbids discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the 45 European countries that acknowledged and ratified the Convention.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has confirmed that Protocol 12 of this Convention includes protection against sexual orientation discrimination. However, not all Council of Europe member states have signed and ratified this yet. The Court of Human Rights confirmed in 1999 that sexual orientation was a prohibited ground of discrimination in the exercise of all the rights conferred by the ECHR.

The European Sports Charter also states that participation in sport should be open to all Europeans.

At the round table conference on Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play in Cyprus, May 2001, sexual orientation was included as one of the grounds of discrimination in sport.

A motion for a recommendation on “the situation of lesbians and gays in sports in member states” was presented by Mrs Ans Zwerver in 2002. It was not discussed in committee but received 41 signatures and recommended that “the Committee of ministers ask the steering committee and the committee of experts concerned to conduct a survey on existing research studies and also on existing good practices within this field in member states” ¹

The motion noted that: “Recent studies show that (young) gay and lesbians in Council of Europe member states are at a disadvantage when it comes to their participation in sports activities in their regular local sports organisation or in sport at school”. ². This report looks at the situation of gays and lesbians in amateur sport and makes recommendations on how education can be used to encourage the participation in sport among all youth.

Sport can be played, and watched on many different levels and this report also examines how specific good and bad practices in selected professional sports can be turned into recommended codes of conduct and politically supported initiatives.

Following previous commitments by the Council of Europe in the area³ this report is a vital continuation of the work already supported by the member states. The current situation of gays and lesbians in sports, in member states, is detailed in submissions from national governments included in this report.

“Sport is a key factor in social integration”⁴ and this report recognises that the situation of gays and lesbians in sport must be seen in the wider context of their position in society.

The problem

Before considering the matter in detail it is necessary to identify why there is a problem with the situation of gays and lesbians in sport.

Who is complaining?

Why bother to create a fuss about homophobia when, unlike racism in sport, few sports people at the top level are actually complaining?

Is this because there are no gays and lesbians among the top sportsmen and women? Given that 1 in 20 of the population⁵ is gay or lesbian this is clearly not the reason.

Is it because gay and lesbian athletes are unaffected by homophobia or don’t care? Clearly this will be the motivation for some but given the examples you will read about in this report and the research undertaken by sports bodies, national Governments and academic institutions across Europe it is clearly not the case for many.

If we, therefore, accept that there are gays and lesbians involved in all levels of sport, and examples of homophobia are real, then this report must consider if people are unwilling to talk about this issue because they are frightened of the reaction from the public, media and their chosen sport and/or concerned with the potential loss of sponsorship money and a negative impact on their future career.

Why does it matter?

Opportunity should not be curtailed because of any discrimination and attaining equality for citizens in member states is a goal across the Council of Europe. Homophobia therefore should not be a barrier to entry for any individual seeking to take part in amateur or professional sport or participate as a spectator.

Sport should always be about optimism whether you compete or you spectate. Unless an athlete is totally focussed (s)he will not be able to compete at their highest level. To either hide one’s sexuality or live with prejudice will at the very least make life unpleasant and unhappy (something sport should never be about) and at the worst lead sportspeople to stop competing or take destructive action.

Gay and lesbian sport

Having considered the situation of gays and lesbians in mainstream sport it is also important to note the role played by gay and lesbian sports clubs and competitions and address the prejudice to such bodies and events.

The European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation have pulled together much research in this field and although it is not the role of this report regurgitate their documents the following points are worth considering:

1. Separate gay / lesbian sport clubs are booming and this is seen by many as a positive step towards the participation of gays and lesbians in sport. For example, in their response to the letter asking for information about the situation, sent out for this report, the Danish Government confirmed that “there are several gay and lesbian sports clubs in Denmark .. (who) … enjoy full and equal memberships of our federations and receive public support at the same level as other clubs”⁶. While this equality among clubs, regardless of their makeup, is to be welcomed the reasons behind the establishment of such exclusive clubs should be considered.

The EGLSF notes one such reason behind the establishment and popularity of such clubs: “among different motivations, the escape from the macho culture, which is still dominant in many regular sports clubs, is an important one”⁷

However in a separate report the EGLSF also draw attention to a 1998 survey of 1600 representatives of regular sports organisations, including gays, lesbians and ethnic minorities, by the University of Rotterdam. “The overwhelming majority answered that Sport should be practised together but not apart, not separate. There seems to be a strong opposition, a strong sentiment against separation in sport”⁸.

2. The EGLSF note that: “Nowadays, many sportswomen and men feel comfortable about their homosexuality and strive for a more competitive style of sport. They want to play in ordinary leagues and participate in official tournaments”⁹. It is, however, the case, that different sports federations in different countries have different attitudes to this more mainstream inclusion. While some Governments and sports federations have made progress with the participation in, and support of the gay games and similar competitions, the EGLSF note some stark examples of prejudice:

“1998 – Dusseldorf, Germany

The West German Basketball Federation (Westdeutscher Basketball Verband e.V.) refuses the membership of the lesbian sports club “Weiberkram Dusseldorf e.V.” because of the explicit aim to promote the goals of the lesbian emancipation movement and to support lesbian visibility”¹⁰

“1998 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The ISU (International Skating Union) threatens to ban skaters who participate in any Gay Games from future competitions. Although protest is coming from all (gay and straight press, politics, EGLSF, private persons via hundreds of letters and emails), the ISU does not want to change its opinion.

The figure skating competition during the Gay Games was cancelled and turned into a so called “public training”. Some skaters participated wearing masks on their faces”¹¹

Member states must seek to synchronise equality commitments among national and international sporting bodies. While some countries have drawn up equality commitments in fairplay guidelines, such documents need to specifically mention homophobia and the situation of gays and lesbians in sport. Such commitments also require back-up by a ring-fenced financial support package.

Football – the case study

“Each season in national and European football racism and xenophobia occur on a weekly basis. Abuse of players by other players, supporters chanting racial abuse inside and outside stadiums and the presence of far-right organisations trying to use football to disseminate their message…”¹².

Just as racism is a problem in football, as in other sports, so is homophobia. The two are not mutually exclusive either, a 2003 poll conducted by MORI for Stonewall’s Citizenship 21 project found “people who are prejudiced against any ethnic minority are twice as likely as the population as a whole to be prejudiced against gay or lesbian people (33% vs 17%)”¹³.

Many initiatives in place already to combat homophobia in football therefore are linked with anti-racism measures:

1. The “Football Against Racism in Europe” partner the Buendnis Aktiver Fussballfans (BAFF) launched a 7-point charter in December 2002, demanding action against homophobia in football. Amongst their recommendations were: “to adopt not only an anti-racist, but also an anti-homophobic paragraph in each stadium and club statute…similar to the stadium regulations of FC St. Pauli or MSV Duisburg”¹⁴ and to launch “a project by the DFB and DFL in which homophobia in German football is documented and analysed to elaborate and realize methods to push back homophobia”¹⁵

2. The Football Association of the UK campaign against homophobia.

The FA rulebook specifically mentions the unacceptability of homophobic discrimination: “A Participant shall not carry out any act which is discriminatory by reason of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability”¹⁶. However, despite rumours in the national media of a specifically targeted FA anti homophobia campaign (along the lines of their widely acclaimed “Kick Racism out of Football” initiative) no such targeted policy has been adopted.

Instead the FA supports a broader anti-discriminatory approach and their ethics and sports equity manager, Lucy Faulkner, has been quoted highlighting the merits of this approach: “If you focus too much on any one group like gay and lesbian people there’s a danger you end up stereotyping them. Future campaigns are likely to be broader. Rather, we will remind people of our clearly stated policy, that any form of discrimination – including on the grounds of sexual orientations unacceptable and won’t be tolerated”¹⁷.

Indeed their misconduct procedure highlights that homophobic discrimination will be treated in the same way as offences based on colour, race, religion, disability etc. with punishments being automatically doubled for such an offence and then “to be trebled, etc, on subsequent occurrences”¹⁸

The FA’s existing equity policy, enacted in 2002, was developed in consultation with gay groups and workshops being held this year will encourage those in the game to “challenge inappropriate behaviour and where necessary report it”¹⁹.

Jim Atkinson was a former senior development manager at Sport England, and an openly gay member of their team. He believes the FA are to be applauded for their work in the area of equality but suggests a broader approach draws the focus towards more media-friendly areas of discrimination: “Whether the FA will emphasise the sexuality bit is another matter. The primary issue for them is ethnicity. That is dynamite because there have been some pretty bad cases of racism and they are determined to address them …. By contrast, there are very few reported cases of homophobic abuse – although they know it goes on”²⁰.

To back up their commitment to sexual orientation equality the FA, and other national football associations can:

I. Forgo the broader approach to discrimination and target specific areas, such as homophobia, as they have done with racism. This would also allow financial and manpower resources to be specifically ring-fenced for gay and lesbian initiatives.

II. Begin or re-instigate targeted policies. In the case of the FA, they backed an anti-homophobic campaign in 2000, supported by the Premiership, Stonewall and the then UK Sports minister, Kate Hoey. But, plans for printed anti-homophobic statements in programmes and poster campaigns were not followed through. Such initiatives would raise the profile of the problem for the media, fans and football.

III. With the underreporting of homophobic abuse, clubs need to be encouraged to take more responsibility for monitoring the problem alongside the FA.

The gay magazine, reFRESH, also acknowledge that the gay community must play their part in stamping out homophobia in football²¹. Reporting cases of homophobic abuse will encourage the FA to take further action and justify more resources and more targeted policies in this area.

3. Police UK “Operation Athena”

Operation Athena is an initiative established “to promote anti-racism, racial equality and anti-homophobia in sport. To create an environment in which all people can participate in watching, playing, coaching and managing sport without facing discrimination of any kind”²²

The accompanying document provides a range of strategic and tactical options for achieving this aim and is specifically meant for use by all staff within the Metropolitan Police (UK) but in particular those working at borough level and those dealing with specific incidents of hate crime.

The good practice element of the report is that it mentions homophobia in particular and lists ways that police officers should try and target such discrimination in sport ranging from encouraging links between the Police and gay and lesbian groups to dealing effectively with homophobic chanting at designated football matches in line with the football (offences and disorder) act 1999 (for full details of strategy and tactics in this area refer to annex 2).

However, the report encourages ways to tackle ‘racialist and indecent chanting’, particularly at football clubs, that may also be employed to tackle similar homophobic insults including: “liaising with the football club to consider the availability of space in match day programmes or official club magazines for this offence to be highlighted”²³ and “adopting covert policing methods at designated football matches”²⁴.

What is the situation of gays and lesbians in football?

The above initiatives reveal, to different extents, some of the commitments to tackling homophobia in football. But “whereas the problem of racism in sports is increasingly recognised, the discrimination on sexual orientation in sport is (still hidden) behind a veil of silence. Lots of prejudices towards gays and lesbians in sport exist, so athletes hide their sexual orientation”²⁵

Some of the initiatives also show that a lot more work could be done, and resources and commitment on the ground must back up verbal commitments to equal opportunities.

The cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation in football are many. Two examples from the UK:

*Justin Fashanu:

May 2nd 1998 professional UK footballer Justin Fashanu was found dead in London – he had hung himself. Aged 19, in 1980, he signed for Nottingham Forest FC. In 1981 he realised he was gay. He did not come out until 10 years later. The mental abuse he received in those years has been documented, including details released in the autobiography of the then Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough, about a dressing down he gave Fashanu after hearing rumours he went to gay bars: “ “Where do you go if you want a loaf of bread?” I asked him. “A baker’s I suppose” “Where do you go if you want a leg of lamb?” “A butcher” “So why do you keep going to that bloody poof’s club?”²⁶

20 years later little has changed – statistically some of the 5,000 professional footballers in the UK must be gay but Justin Fashanu remains the only British gay professional footballer to have come out.

* Graeme Le Saux

“As a former player, I find it inconceivable that any player can come out during his career – unless he is close to retirement – because he simply will not be accepted in the dressing room.” Tony Cascarino ²⁷

Football is a macho sport and anyone who does not fit the stereotypes of players and fans is open to abuse. Chelsea (now Southampton) player Graeme Le Saux is married with children yet has suffered years of abuse about his alleged homosexuality. The tag which was first attached to Le Saux when he played at Blackburn reportedly stemmed from his un-macho hobbies including art and current affairs. During the 1999 FA Cup quarter final between Liverpool and Chelsea the Liverpool (now Manchester City) striker (and fellow England team mate) Robbie Fowler wiggled his buttocks at Le Saux and called him a “poof” and a “faggot”. For this (and another incident) Robbie Fowler received a £32,000 fine from the FA and a 6 match ban but following the incident Le Saux claimed “The last few weeks have been difficult, with so much media attention focused on me and inevitably negative reaction from fans into the bargain.”²⁸

There are differences between men and women in football too. Gay footballers (and other sportsmen) have, according to Dutch research, started to participate in sports again because of the existence of exclusively gay clubs. “They had a strong dislike for sports and gymnastics before because of competitive and macho behaviour” ²⁹ - and football is one of the most macho!

“For lesbians it is the reverse, because they succeed quite well in the rough games of sport”³⁰ but this does not mean they have not faced abuse. Just as male football players are expected to be macho, so are women players. The perception of a macho woman is, for many, a lesbian. Female footballers, whether lesbian or not, face homophobia. Two examples from Italy:

- “Too many lesbian footballers” – The President of the Italian football team, Club Azzure Brescia”, Michele de Caminata, disbands team (1995 Brescia Italy).

- An Italian court threw out a lawsuit brought about by the amateur women’s soccer team over allegations that they were lesbians, ruling it was not a crime to call someone homosexual. ³¹

There are also examples of gay referees suffering discrimination including “homophobic chanting to openly gay football premier league referees”³² in the Netherlands and a tabloid newspaper in the UK beginning an article with “Tonight’s referee is gay”³³

Tennis - the case study

“Members shall guarantee that players entitled to compete shall be allowed to do so. In no circumstances shall there be racial discrimination or political interference”³⁴ International Tennis Federation (ITF) Constitution

This statement from the ITF highlights their commitment to a racially integrated sport but there is no commitment to ending discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Lawn Tennis Association that operates in Britain has made a similar commitment - signing the Racial Equality Charter for Sport, a document produced by Sporting Equals in partnership with Sport England and the Commission for Racial Equality. Again, however, there is no commitment to the end to discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.

There are no openly gay professional tennis players on the male circuit and given the odds, this either suggests players are hiding their sexuality or facing either real or perceived barriers to entry into the sport.

The problems of sexuality discrimination in tennis have parallels with many other sports. The examples below can also apply to other professional sports:

1. No action has been taken against players who have made homophobic comments in reference to their sport. The ATP, the men’s professional tennis circuit, has “strict rules that would penalise a player guilty of vilification (homophobic abuse on and off court). The max penalty is $100000 and a 3 year suspension”³⁵. However, despite this players have got away with expressing views off the court in interviews and press conferences – even when referring to matches and individuals involved. Subsequently gays and lesbians choosing tennis as their professional career are not adequately protected from discrimination in their work place.

e.g “Then I hit another second serve, huge. And that ball was on the line, was not even close. And that guy, he looks like a faggot little bit, you know. This hair all over him. He calls it [out]. I couldn't believe he did it.” ³⁶ Goran Ivanisevic

2. There are openly gay professional tennis players on the female circuit but it is not correct to presume that because they exist they do not face discrimination.

"'Sexual preference is not a problem for people who watch the matches, it's the marketing people who think differently. You are dead if you admit you are gay or bisexual. It's okay for a singer, but not for an athlete³⁷ Martina Navratilova.


As with other sports, players who have come out or been “outed” have lost huge amounts of money because of prejudice in the advertising industry:

- Tennis player Billie Jean King lost more than one million dollars of endorsements in the three years after a lesbian affair was made public. “She was the only major player in the world without a clothing endorsement contract … while King lost millions Tracy Austin, an injured player with a boyfriend, kept collecting huge checks even though she could not compete” ³⁸

- "Talking openly about her lesbianism has cost her lucrative sponsorships, but it has made her a beacon of courageous independence, visible far beyond the money-mad treadmill of world tennis. Snag is, she's probably too extraordinary to be a role model."³⁹

Martina Navratilova, holds the all time record for tournament victories, male or female but despite this she has consistently received fewer endorsement contracts than either her male counterparts or her more "feminine" female rivals.

In 2000 Subaru signed Navratilova, along with other female athletes, to advertise its Forester model and this may mark a move to a greater acceptance of lesbian athletes in advertising. But Navratilova has now risen above her sport and become a celebrity in her own right. She suffered hugely at the hands of advertisers in her heyday and with a still predominantly straight advertising world, less experienced, less high profile players, are likely to face continued discrimination in advertising revenue.

Conclusions on the situation for gays and lesbians in sport

i.        Sport is no exception to society at large when it reflects discrimination of gays and lesbians as well as homophobia.

ii.       The most common form of discrimination is silence and invisibility, which leads to the stabilisation of an extremely heterosexual environment in sports. There seems to be a persistent silence on the issue of gays and lesbians in sports amongst sport authorities, although a very few exceptions can be reported. Most regular sport organisations seem to be ignorant on homophobia and discrimination of gays and lesbians in their area of responsibility.

iii.        Hardly any professional sports people in any sport come out as being gay during their active sports career and part of the reason is a real fear of discrimination.

iv.       Young gays and lesbians stay in the closet in their sport club, or at the gym at school. When their participation is on a voluntary basis, then especially gay youngsters drop out from sport, because of the gay, lesbian and bisexual unfriendly atmosphere. Being gay and being good at sports seems to exclude each other.

v.       Homophobic chanting and anti-gay slurs occur frequently in sport, and in particular in popular sports like football. The very few pilot projects in football have not yet been successful⁴⁰. Recently the English Football Association announced a campaign combating homophobia. However it seems that in other branches of sport pilot projects have shown a little success (swimming, volleyball and non-competitive or more recreational sports)⁴¹.

vi.       As an answer to mechanisms of social exclusion and for reasons of self determination gays and lesbians have their own sport clubs in a number of European countries. In some member states this development is acknowledged or even officially supported by sport authorities.

vii.        Only very few governments in the member states included gay sport in a recent policy document and/or just started developing a policy on the area of homophobia and discrimination on sexual orientation in sport.

Reporting committee: Committee on Culture, Science and Education

Reference to committee: Doc. 9357 and Ref. No 2702 of 26.3.2002

Draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 17 October 2003 with two abstentions

Members of the committee: MM. de Puig (Chairman), Baronne Hooper MM. Prisacaru, Smorawinski (Vice-Persons), Apostoli, Banks, Barbieri (Alternate: Tirelli), Mrs Bemelmans-Vidal, MM. Berceanu, Braga, Buzatu (Alternate: Ionescu), Mrs Castro: (Alternate: Varela i Serra), MM. Chaklein, Colombier, Cubreacov, Dačic, Dalgaard, Mrs Damanaki, Mr Debono Grech, Mrs Delvaux-Stehres Mr Devinski, Mrs Domingues, Mrs Dromberg, Mrs Eymer, Mrs Fehr, Mrs Fernández-Capel (Alternate: Mrs Agudo), MM. Gadzinowski, Galchenko, Galoyan, Gentil, Mrs Glovacki-Bernardi, MM. Goutry, Gündüz I, Gündüz S, Gunnarsson, Mrs Hadziahmetoviċ, MM. Hegyi, Howlin (Alternate: Mooney), Huseynov R, Iannuzzi, Jakic, Jakovljev, Jarab, Jurgens, Mrs Katseli, Mr Kocharian, Mrs Labucka, MM. Legendre, Lengagne, Letzgus, Libicki, Livaneli, Mrs Lucyga, MM. Lydeka, Malgieri, Marxer, McNamara, Mrs Melandri, MM. Melnikov, Mestan, Mezihorak, Mrs Milotinova, Mrs Muttonen, Mr O’Hara, Mrs Ohlsson, MM. Podeschi, Rakhansky (Alternate: Kosyanenko), Rockenbauer, Rybak, Mrs Samoilovska-Cvetanova, MM. Schneider, Shybko, Sizopoulos, Mrs Skarbøvik, MM. Sudarenkov (Alternate: Korobeynikov), Tusek (Alternate: Grissemann), Vakilov , Mrs Westerlund Panke, MM. Wodarg, ZZ (Andorra), ZZ (Georgia).

      N.B. The names of those present at the meeting are printed in italics

Head of secretariat: Mr Grayson

Secretaries to the committee: Mr Ary, Mrs Theophilova-Permaul

¹ Situation of lesbians and gays in sports in member states – motion for recommendation Doc. 9357. 4 February 2002.

² Ibid

³ 26 September 2000: The Assembly adopted Recommendation 1474 (2000) on the situation of lesbians and gays in Council of Europe member states. Amongst other recommendations the member states are called upon to take positive measures to combat homophobic attitudes, including in sports (paragraph 11)

27 April 2001 (Nicosia): Discrimination based on sexual orientation is included in the Final Statement on Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play, adopted on the occasion of the 3^rd Round Table on Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play.

⁴ Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Walter Schwimmer, on the occasion of the informal 9^th conference of European Ministers responsible for sport. Bratislava, 30 May 2000.

⁵ GISAH & NCS Research 1996

⁶ Letter from Brian Mikkelsen, Danish Minister for Culture, to Tony Banks MP, 25 June 2003.

⁷ ““Offside” – The European document on discrimination of gays and lesbians in sport”1999. (preface)

⁸ “Building Bridges” Report from the Round Table conference 5-6 March 1999, Madurodam Conference Centre, The Hague, the Netherlands (p6)

⁹ ““Offside” – The European document on discrimination of gays and lesbians in sport”1999. (p 5)

¹⁰ ““Offside” – The European document on discrimination of gays and lesbians in sport”1999. (p 5)

¹¹ Ibid

¹² “Targeting Discrimination in Football” leaflet produced by “Football Against Racism in Europe” 2003

¹³ MORI poll “Profiles of Prejudice” commissioned by Stonewall’s Citizenship 21 project, UK. 2003

¹⁴ Buendnis Aktiver Fussballfans (BAFF) 7-point anti-homophobia charter, 2002.

¹⁵ Ibid

¹⁶ FA Handbook “Rules of Association” p22

¹⁷ “Sweet FA?” article published in reFRESH Magazine (UK), September issue

¹⁸ FA Memorandum of Procedures “For Dealing with misconduct occurring before, during or after matches and committed by players of clubs dealt with by country and other affiliated associations but not by the Football Association” p5

¹⁹ FA’s Lucy Faulkner quoted in : “Sweet FA?” article published in reFRESH Magazine (UK), September

²⁰ Jim Atkinson, former Senior Development Manager at Sport England, quoted in: “Sweet FA?” article published in reFRESH Magazine (UK), September

²¹ “Sweet FA?” article published in reFRESH Magazine (UK), September

²² Athena-Sport Spectrum, Metropolitan Police, November 2001 p 4

²³ Athena-Sport Spectrum, Metropolitan Police, November 2001 p 22

²⁴ Ibid

²⁵ EGLSF article in “Targetting Discrimination in Football” leaflet produced by “Football Against Racism in Europe” 2003

²⁶ Brian Clough autobiography

²⁷ “Is it Time to be open” newspaper article by former footballer in UK Tony Cascarino (need to source paper and date)

²⁸ “Le Saux: Fowler row will not affect my game” Barclaycard Premiership News on the internet (27 March 1999)

²⁹ Hekma 1994

³⁰ Ibid

³¹ Case study taken from “Offside”. The European document on discrimination of gays and lesbians in sport” 1999. P6

³² Expert paper “Don’t ask, don’t tell” by Ben Baks

³³ ibid

³⁴ The Constitution of the International Tennis Federation Ltd. 2003, p39

³⁵ E-mail from Nicola Arzani, ATP Director of Communications Europe, to Tony Banks, 20 August 2003

³⁶ Goran Ivanisevic, post match press conference after winning Wimbledon 2001

³⁷ Martina Navratilova interview. 'The Sunday Times', 1996.

³⁸ Festle, MJ : Playing Nice: Politics and apologies in Women’s Sports. New York 1996, 239

³⁹ Adam Sweeting, The Guardian critic speaking in a BBC tribute to Martina Navratilova after her retirement in 1994

⁴⁰ the Netherlands: (I) KNVB-afdeling west en ABD-NHN-project 2000 and (II) the Diopter pilot GISAH-NCS-NOC*NSF project 2000, Germany: Tatort Fußball, Germany-BAFF-project.

⁴¹ EGLSF statistic survey 1999: many gay and lesbian volleyball players and swimmers in Germany and the Netherlands affiliate with the regular national or regional sport association.