Stonewall UK Asked Athletes to Sport #RainbowLaces and Hunky Players Have Come Through
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Stonewall UK Asked Athletes to Sport #RainbowLaces and Hunky Players Have Come Through

Written by Danny Addice on November 26, 2017
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Soccer Football is easily the most watched sport around the world. The comradery shared, between fans and their teams, is unmatched. It’s played in countries that run the gamut from incredibly progressive to incredibly anti-LGBT. But even in the more liberal areas, homophobic comments are prevalent.

Stonewall UK is ready to combat the homophobic attitudes in football with their #RainbowLaces campaign. From November 24th to December 3rd, players, coaches, managers, and fans have been asked to wear rainbow shoelaces in support of the cause.

The #Rainbowlaces campaign has also allowed fans and athletes alike to speak out on social media in support of the LGBT community.

Danish footballer and Huddersfield Town center back Mathias Jørgensen posted a brief interview on Twitter in support keeping football inclusive.

Liverpool fan and Kop Outs founder Paul Amann also posted a video interview on Twitter discussing how much things have changed in the league since he started following football in the 1970s and early 80’s. Amann talks about his experience being mixed-race with the heavy racist undertones in the league, and how coming out made it even more difficult to feel ‘at-home’ during games.

Ryan Atkin, the first openly out referee in the Premier League shared how happy he is to finally be his true self on the pitch.

Many of the players have already started showing off their #RainbowLaces this weekend. The Premier League teams have also created Pride logos that now adorn all of their social media pages.

Check out some of the athletes rocking #RainbowLaces and rainbow armbands.

Tottenham Hotspurs captain Hugo Lloris and Spurs Ladies captain Jenna Schillaci

 

Chelsea captain John Terry and Chelsea Ladies captain Katie Chapman

 

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson

 

Manchester United right winger Antonio Valencia

 

Crystal Palaces captain Mamadou Sakho

 

Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony

 

Rugby player James Haskell

 

Rugby player Chris Robshaw

 

 

Feature Image via Twitter, @liverpoolfc

Pride soccer

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