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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40846848 It seems as if Newcastle United are one of only 5 clubs in the Premier League that are without a designated LGBT supporters’ group. Bearing in mind the fact we’ve seen Gallowgate Flags facilitate the funding, design and display of a Rainbow Flag in the ground, I wonder if now is the time for us to show that NUFC is a broad, tolerant & welcoming club by forming one? Remember 30-odd years ago the racist chanting in the ground & NF paper sales outside were driven out by the Geordies Are Black & white campaign; now niqab wearing African Muslim women attend home games & are accepted alongside all other fans. Like many people at SJP, I am a heterosexual male. And like most, I couldn't care less whether the person in the seat next to me is male, female, black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, Atheist or whatever, as long as they're not a twat. However, from the depressing bigotry displayed on Twitter the Rainbow flag, which is the only one of their projects I’ve donated to, it seems a proportion of the support (generally from the diminishing white working class, middle aged, hard lad demographic) have a problem with collectivization of groups of people different from them. I do wonder how many people who quickly say, "We don't need an LGBT supporters group, it only serves to enforce barriers between gay and straight fans" do so because it's easier than admitting that the idea of a gay NUFC fans club makes them uncomfortable. Personally I'm convinced an LGBT group would provide a platform for those within that community to find a safe haven and a platform for their opinions. I'm not going to lose any sleep over NUFC not yet having one, but I sure as hell don't have a problem if our LGBT brothers and sisters start one. If I suggested a group was founded for OAP Newcastle fans which older fans could use to meet and socialise with others with similar life experience and interests to themselves, and use to make sure that older people at matches were well-looked after, I can pretty safely say that not one single person would say it is a bad idea, and that it would only build boundaries between fans of different ages. I've never been on the receiving end of any sort of "phobic" chanting so cannot comment on the effect it has on those being targeted, so I think we have to accept that those groups in society who feel victimised in this way do have a point, and should be respected. As pointed out in the article, the real way to stop racist or homophobic abuse is to report it, though personally I think having openly LGBT players would go much further in helping to eradicate homophobia... Food for thought?

That last 'paragraph' is spot on. Being LGBT is a protected characteristic legally now just like race so should be dealt with just as seriously by the stewards.

i think the subsequent responses, whereby posters recognise that homophobic comments are used & would be more prevalent if a player were to come out, suggest that your question has been answered? anecdotally, i have friends from the LGBT community who are season ticket holders & others who have been deterred from attending because of negative experiences. personally i'd hope that homophobic comments would be dealt with by stewards in the same way as racist language or other forms of hatespeech; remove, arrest, charge, convict, ban....

C'mon ewerk, have a gay old time is the obvious answer.

two points; firstly, can you actually prove there aren't members of the LGBT community who want to go to SJP but don't feel safe / welcome currently? secondly, as you're not part of the LGBT community, i don't think you can accurately speak for that section of society.

How do you know? The language and behaviour I've heard from football fans in my time suddenly doesn't encourage me to take my gay son to football anytime soon!

Be visible? Show that the club is happy to accept all sectors of society? I fully support it and the idea that homophobic bigotry should be treated like racism is more these days.

I was just kidding

I think it'd be well worth doing, especially in the current climate where gay players are starting to risk coming out in public. Twitter remains full of losers but I think we should take encouragement from the fact that the flag was flown. An LGBT group would be a good move for inclusiveness in the support base, which should always be encouraged.

Only final ones.

I know, we both mentioned it pages ago. Just posted the article up so people understand the method behind the madness from Kimmy's POV.

The real Nazi's are running the country.

Fuck off, CT

She's refusing to touch his podcast.

He's dogshit like. Sub-Lawrension miserablist with minimal actual knowledge and no curiosity or interest in obtaining any. I've switched to James Richardson's new one and it's so much better purely for his absence. If he turns up there too, so help me god...

Fucking pack it in, Fish

Or possibly very bad...

Personally I'd have just donated the £850 to the charity and saved myself the ballache of the cycle but each to their own.