We’ll be showing our support for Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign during Sunday’s game.
The initiative aims to highlight that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are welcome at every level of sport and that homophobia is unacceptable.
Through the club’s 'Arsenal for Everyone' campaign, we strive to ensure everyone connected to the club feels an equal sense of belonging irrespective of race, age, religion and belief, sexual orientation, disability or gender.
Thousands of people across the UK will lace up with the iconic laces this weekend as part of a UK-wide campaign to ‘make sport everyone’s game.’
The Rainbow Laces weekend follows research that reveals homophobic language is still regularly heard at live sporting events. Despite this, the majority of people support LGBT people in sport according to the research, with nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) saying more should be done to make LGBT people feel accepted.
“Football has the power to bring people together in a unique way and we believe there should be no barriers to feeling a sense of belonging to Arsenal Football Club,” said our chief executive, Ivan Gazidis. "This is something we will continually drive to create an inclusive atmosphere for our fans, staff, players and followers – whomever they are and wherever they’re from.”
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall’s chief executive, said: ‘Such high-profile support is crucial for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people who want to take part in sport, either as players or fans, but feel unsafe, unwelcome or unable to be themselves. We need fans, players, clubs and governing bodies to stand up as allies so that we can make sport everyone’s game.”
Homophobic abuse is outlawed by The FA’s ground regulations. It is punishable by both the police and also by The FA, in exactly the same way as racism is. Chanting, verbal abuse, banners or text that uses homophobic, hateful or prejudiced language can lead to charges ranging from being banned from attending matches or being fined, to even imprisonment.
Arsenal Football Club does not tolerate discrimination of any sort at the Club, on the pitch or in the stands. If you experience any form of discrimination at Emirates Stadium, please report this by texting 67777 or contact a matchday steward.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
