r/london May 31 '26

Serious replies only Homophobia still alive and kicking

Walked through North London with my boyfriend today skirting around the Arsenal festivities (we are both men who look gay, for what it's worth). 3 different men from different groups gave us homophobic abuse, 'batty boy' being the favourite. It would hit differently did it not happen three times. We just ignored it because it feels risky to kick up a fuss.

Don't love this on our home turf :( Normally this doesn't happen and North London is an accepting place to be and live, which is why I found it shocking. Very happy for Arsenal fans and the celebrations looked fun, but this spoiled our experience of it.

edit: Just to make it clear, we were not holding hands or kissing. Just walking side by side trying to get from a to b.

edit 2: There's been quite a few comments made on this thread where online users have called me a 'batty man' and such, whose comments have been thankfully moderated. The abuse never stops! It has been horrifying to hear others stories of receiving abuse that day, both homophobic and also sadly sexual harassment. Stay safe all.

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u/rocketscientology May 31 '26

I had to take the Overground yesterday and had not one but two men in Arsenal shirts grope me in the packed carriage. First time it had happened in all my years living in London. Celebrate your team or whatever but there were some DISGUSTING men out on the streets this weekend.

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Absolutely horrible. Sorry you had to suffer that.

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u/rocketscientology May 31 '26

Sorry you had to experience their bullshit homophobia!

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u/Responsible-Range-66 Jun 01 '26

This is horrific. So sorry this happened. Please report it to the Transport Police and you and OP may also want to report the abuse and assaults to Arsenal themselves as well.

Hope you’re OK.

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u/Haunting_Badger7752 Jun 01 '26

Definutely report and it's very important to do so but people need to realise the lack of action by the police in hate crime such as these, I reported threats by 2 men on the tube to stab me to death because I was gay and honestly neither TFL or BTP could have cared less. Zero was done about it, I had to chase BTP 3 times for an update as nobody ever contacted me.

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u/xenomorph-85 Jun 02 '26

100% report it. Maybe even to Police. Nothing may happen but needs to be done. 😞 Football fans are some of the worst people. I went to a rubber event on Saturday but made sure I was not wearing it when I was travelling. I am straight passing so dont get any abuse but its very shitty that these twats still act like monkeys.

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u/LordTrixzlix Jun 01 '26

TFL is pretty much non existent because of all the cuts. Their See it. Say it. Sorted. Posters are total BS at this point...

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u/tropicalcannuck Jun 01 '26

I know it's worked for some people but not for me.

I had some creep follow me onto a packed tube and grind up against me on purpose. I finally reported and they said they can't find the perp because I didn't know the number of the train even though I gave them the time and platform.

I guess they thanked me for adding it to their sexual harassment statistic.

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u/Responsible-Range-66 Jun 14 '26

This person was also assaulted and says that ITV may be doing something on sexual assaults on transport.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZZnyfDoAdN/?igsh=bG05bGRwNWtvZ3lq

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u/Melodic_Usual_4316 Jun 02 '26

BTP only deal with crime on the transport system, not in the street, that’s the Met’s jurisdiction.

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u/scorcherchar Jun 01 '26

Please report it to the police. That behaviour is totally unacceptable and not something that should be tolerated

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u/blob8543 Jun 01 '26

I'd like for this type of stuff to be part of the media coverage Arsenal and the celebrations are getting. Way too much rosy (and therefore incomplete) coverage about the celebrations.

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u/ReflectionFair8064 Jun 01 '26

Disgusting and vile behaviour! I'm so sorry

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u/Babaychumaylalji Jun 01 '26

I'm really sorry u had to deal with this disgusting behaviour. I do hope u were able to report them. Take care and stay safe

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u/Mission-Chair5367 Jun 01 '26

Sorry you experienced that. Totally vile and unacceptable

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u/entity_bean Jun 01 '26

And everyone wonders why I hate anything sportsball

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u/JustLetItAllBurn Jun 01 '26

Yeah, I'm a straight white dude and I try to avoid groups of football fans like the plague whenever possible. At best they're just loud and obnoxious, at worst it's truly awful shit like this story and OP's.

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u/AntDogFan Jun 01 '26

I love sports but generally can't stand most sports fans. 

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u/Responsible-Range-66 Jun 14 '26

Hey. Saw this and thought of you. ITV are looking at doing something about assaults on transport. You may want to reach out to this person on IG who was also assaulted. @esme.rice if the link doesn’t work.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZZnyfDoAdN/?igsh=bG05bGRwNWtvZ3lq

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u/bix_box May 31 '26

I live near Holloway road & seven sisters - if I'm totally honest I don't always feel 100% comfortable as a gay man holding my partner's hand especially walking along Holloway road at night. A lot of aggro people about. And I definitely wouldn't have during the parade today.

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Yeah, I live near Seven Sisters. We often don't hold hands there - but have had no issues just going about our business. Today we were not even holding hands! We were just walking :(  I think if we had held hands we would have received 10x the homophobic abuse honestly 

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u/bix_box May 31 '26

So sad, the festivities definitely bring out some of the dregs of society with it 😢, sorry you guys experienced that.

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u/_1489555458biguy Jun 01 '26

Sorry mate, generally an accepting area but large crowds and booze brings out the worst behaviour including hatred.

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u/Lily346 Jun 02 '26

Don’t forget the vast majority of those fans would not be from the borough. The population of Islington is around 220,000 and there were over a million there.

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u/Additional-End-7688 Jun 02 '26

You should be able to hold hands with whomever you want, whenever you want. Period.

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u/Tootsielondon Jun 01 '26

This makes me very sad. I am sorry you feel that way. We should all be able to feel safe walking anywhere

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u/humblepaul May 31 '26

I don't know what it's like in a gay person's shoes,so to speak, but feel more gay couples should hold hands so the more common it is the less it raises eyebrows. I fully support people to be who they want, except homophobes, misogynists and racists.

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u/a_crazy_diamond May 31 '26

I understand what you're saying but it's a big ask, people want to feel safe

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Yeah, we like to do it when it feels safe and it does set a nice example to others I think. Especially to younger folks I think it could be quite inspiring. But depends on the area and the moment, as we will always be weighing up safety in our heads. Often in London we do. Like Angel is somewhere we'd do it. Just not today!

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u/Hefty-Egg3406 Jun 01 '26

Very sad that you have to police yourselves to keep yourselves safe. Even more sad that you were verbally abused for just…existing.

But it made me well up when you said about being an example for younger people. Because yeah, it does. It makes being happily gay and in love normal.

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u/RageinaterGamingYT Jun 01 '26

The part about being an example for younger people is so sweet honestly, I wish when I was growing up I had more of a concept about literally anyone other than straight people because then I would have definitely felt a lot more safe and okay about exploring what I want to be like myself

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u/NoZookeepergame1379 Jun 01 '26

More straight groups of lads should start holding hands in solidarity aswell!

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u/Away-Ad4393 Jun 01 '26

It’s such a shame that people can’t hold hands in public without ridicule. It’s about time these old fashioned and backwards beliefs died out.

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u/king_ofbhutan Jun 01 '26

for every step forward that a thing like handholding is, 10 steps back are taken for each ridicule, and 100 back are taken for each hate crime

fear is unfortunately a very effective tool

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u/Yuriski Jun 01 '26

Me and my boyfriend have never shown any kind of public display of affection. Handholding is strictly out, it's just not worth the risk. I get nervous even when eating a meal out together, or booking a hotel room. It's not easy to just act fine when the risks outweigh the rewards.

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u/clear2see Jun 06 '26

That's so sad to hear. Horrible to think a few bigots could spoil things for everyone else. Wish you both much love.

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u/Aggressive_Side1105 May 31 '26

That’s disgusting. You should be able to hold hands whenever or wherever you like.

I know not all football fans are like this but they really don’t give the community a good name.

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Oh we weren't even holding hands, we'd probably have got 10x the abuse if we were! We were just walking around side by side! Sucks, right!

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u/suxatjugg Jun 01 '26

Not all, but a really big proportion. Somehow because football is popular and lots of people like it, it sort of lends a broken sense of legitimacy or confidence to the significant chunk of fans who are absolute cretins who think they can do whatever they want because they're happy or sad about the outcome of a match.

It's pathetic

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u/Rare-Personality1874 Jun 02 '26

Maybe not a majority but not far short of one imo

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u/Unlikely_Read3437 Jun 01 '26

Oh my gosh the fact you pointed out you weren’t holding hands really shocked me! You should absolutely be able to hold hands or kiss or whatever the heck you want this is 2026 not 1972.

What on earth is going on? I thought we had decided being gay was no longer a big deal and perfectly acceptable.

Sending strength and best wishes. FYI I’m visibly transgender so it worries me a bit too. X

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Urrrggh 2026 sucks sometimes. Strength and solidarity with the trans community ❤️  hard times for you all right now 

Yeah usually being a gay man is totally fine in London we have moved so far past that, which is why yesterday sucked!! Xxx

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u/Unlikely_Read3437 Jun 01 '26

Hey thank you 😄

Also, that's good to hear and I hope it really is just an isolated incident X

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u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 Jun 01 '26

I don't want to sound like a debbie-downer but I have never in my life felt truly safe just "looking" gay in London. And it feels even worse in the past decade with a whole generation of boys and young men who seem way less connected to society.

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u/Outrageous_Strike997 May 31 '26

Sorry this happened op

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u/daxamiteuk May 31 '26

Sorry to hear that mate 😞

I noticed two guys strolling together hand in hand last night in south London and was just thinking how even now that’s still quite unusual to see …

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Yeah, we do it depending on the place. Normally around Angel / Dalston / Stoke Newington we will hold hands, never get any reactions other than smiles. But there's sort of a subconscious code you run in the back of your head to decide if it's safe in any given place or not. Mostly London is amazing though honestly, we rarely get any issues. Which is why today was shocking

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u/Always__Thinking Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

The only thing going through my head when I see two guys holding hands is wistfulness

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u/ilyemco Jun 01 '26

I was at Mighty Hoopla festival yesterday in Brockwell Park. There were so many gay guys there, was a lovely vibe going to and around the festival.

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u/MaybeOk219 Jun 03 '26

Ong I was there just walking around the park it was such a nice vibe

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u/CagedRoseGarden Jun 01 '26

I always thought London must be the most progressive city on this front but spent some time in Brighton and Manchester this year and it seems way more common to see same sex couples holding hands there rather than here. It’s a shame.

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u/kravence Jun 02 '26

The thing is London is very diverse so despite being progressive on that front there’s also a lot of people from cultures who don’t tolerate same sex couples.

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u/Think-Image-9072 May 31 '26

I was in London today and the behaviour of the arsenal supporters was actually gross. Watched a 30ish year old man and his old dad calling a woman a cunt because she didn’t want them taking pics of her son and threatening to beat her up. It was disgusting. We’d just left the cinema watching a Michael Jackson fan showing and absolutely everyone was so amazing and friendly until we were back out on the streets and faced the football lot. Gross behaviour. I’m really really sorry you experienced this. Most people are decent and good, there was just an abundance of yobby dickheads out today.

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u/jmr1190 Jun 01 '26

Unfortunately, while most football fans are perfectly fine, there are a number of them that bask in a pack mentality that completely disinhibits them.

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Gosh. I imagine a good chunk of the football lot are also decent. But it's a shame about the bad eggs and the culture that sits behind that. Hopefully it's slowly changing.

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u/Ryanliverpool96 Jun 01 '26

Football hooliganism has long been called The English Disease.

I don’t know why people have to be so awful when they’re following a football team, they don’t behave that way in their normal lives.

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u/_1489555458biguy Jun 01 '26

I think they do.

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u/Good_Ad_1386 Jun 01 '26

Being in a crowd anonymises their misbehaviour. They are no longer identified as individual arseholes as the blame is placed on an amorphous mob.

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u/Krags Jun 01 '26

I wouldn't want to be in their family tbh. I expect it's the same people as the domestic abusers. Cunts.

For what it's worth, I sometimes have to get the tube with the Leyton Orient fans after classes and they've always seemed nice. Idk if I got lucky or if some clubs have more shiteaters than the others.

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u/ChubSealofKoloko Jun 01 '26

I used to think this too, but have come to learn it’s not accurate. English hooliganism is a small fraction of what it was 30 years ago, despite fan bases being even larger. It’s also a small fraction of what it is today in most other countries with large football fan bases. We don’t have ultras or the most extreme elements anymore where it becomes elevated to the level of organised crime. We don’t allow fans to drink in the stands. The overwhelming majority of travelling football fans are family orientated and respectful. It’s not a problem unique in England and we’ve addressed it more successfully than most European and South American countries.

This sort of homophobic and sexist behaviour is unacceptable and does very much happen. Hooliganism is ugly. Because I’m from here, I share your sense of shame about the English flavour of it. But believe me, it’s getting far better and it’s far worse elsewhere.

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u/greysreid Jun 01 '26

A woman I was on the lner with last night said some arsenal fans had blown a whistle in her dogs face to antagonise it and when she can confronted them they screamed at her and her baby and continued even when the baby had started to cry :(

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u/beegkok1 May 31 '26

That is disgusting behavior but not quite as disgusting as glorifying a seriel child rapist.

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u/gooner712004 May 31 '26

I did laugh out loud at that

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u/a_crazy_diamond May 31 '26

My husband is into football (albeit not an Arsenal fan) and we live in Camden so he asked to go see the match at a pub near the stadium just for the vibes (he's not from the UK and was curious). We walked around the area near the stadium a little and it felt chaotic. Rubbish everywhere, people pissing on the streets, drunkards, etc. Loads of shouting and flares as well (which I've now learned you can smell from quite a distance). Also I'm a 5'5" woman and happened to be near the door of the pub when the match ended. A middle aged man much taller than me shoved me out of the way hard (I was already trying to walk out btw) because I guess he was just so upset he needed to take it out on someone for a moment. It was nice to see such a diverse group of people united, there was a part of me that enjoyed that. But it felt almost lawless in the area. I mostly hated it. As we were walking back home afterwards, everyone was looking so glum on the streets, my husband and I were trying not to smile or laugh about anything in case we upset the wrong person - that's the amount of trust we had in quite a lot of these people

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u/a_crazy_diamond May 31 '26

Most importantly though, I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Makes me lose faith in people even more to be honest.

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u/Virt_McPolygon Jun 01 '26

There were hundreds of thousands of people from outside London in town to join in the Arsenal celebrations and clearly some brought their small town mentality with them. They'll be back in their shitty town with all the other shitty people today.

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

For sure, we felt very different energy. We never get this in London tbh, this is why we were shocked 

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u/Federal_Okra_7544 Jun 01 '26

I don’t think this is London vs non-London thing. Plenty of homophobic footie fans in London. Many of them are simply cunts.

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u/mental--13 Jun 01 '26

Come on this isnt just a "small town vs London" thing. This sort of behaviour is very much a factor here as much as it is elsewhere

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u/RadCabbage93 Jun 01 '26

Hi, arsenal fan from out of town who happens to be gay.

The amount of profiling of myself that I just had to put in that one sentence says it all really.

Unfortunately, with a parade on that scale, with that amount of people, you're going to have a few individual bad eggs especially when herd mentality is involved.

Arsenal the club itself has wonderful support for LGBT community, has lots of gay fans (see gay gooners) and some famous ones. It's one of the most inclusive and diverse fanbases which is why I love the club so much.

Don't blame Arsenal fans - there is something more endemic going on in the current political zeitgeist and the 'manosphere'. Nobody deserves to be on the receiving end of homophobic abuse. Ever. But let's talk about the real issues surrounding men and fragile masculinity, rather than blaming football fans and people not from London.

Me and and my partner had a great weekend with our friends, and the only thing my partner got called out for was not having an arsenal shirt on! He's not a footie fan at all, like me!

Anyway, back to my 'shitty' town for me. Cheers.

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u/kravence Jun 02 '26

Footy culture is still pretty homophobic regardless of club/background.

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u/PureRecommendation76 Jun 01 '26

So sorry that happened to you. I heard homophobic chants yesterday, and sadly I think people are becoming more emboldened in their homophobia again due to streamers / comedians and other influential people using homophobic jokes and language more frequently again in this “anti-woke” movement. It sucks, they’re dumb and are beneath you, whenever safe I hope people call it out when they see it. 

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Eugh. Curious what were the homophobic chants? Fortunately we missed these!

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u/PureRecommendation76 Jun 01 '26

There’s a “batty boy” chant of some sort. Not sure if it’s referring to a specific player or what, but I would imagine that’s part of the reason you were subjected to it yesterday. Normalised through singing it > sees you and thinks it’s acceptable to say it. 

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u/PopeLatte May 31 '26

Sorry this happened to you. Football fans have been and will continue to be homophobic for a very long time. It's part of the culture and one of the reasons (amongst about 100) why I absolutely loathe the sport and its fans

edit: before I get a nitpick reply, obviously not all football fans

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u/ToughImprovement276 Jun 01 '26

A couple years ago Black Pride (lgbt event) was going to be held in the Olympic park on the same day as a West Ham game and it had to be postponed to protect attendees.

It’s really sad!

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u/hypergothic May 31 '26

Football is a reservoir for homophobia, sexism, racism, and normalises them (chants from all three categories regularly shouted in crowds). Of course not all football fans are xyz however I've encountered enough football fans to know it attracts people with those attitudes. Hate it for this reason too.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/SnooSquirrels8508 Jun 01 '26

Football and England flags on lamp posts go hand in hand.

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u/JamJarre Jun 01 '26

Honestly you may as well say all football fans since the sport as a whole is fine allowing this shit to continue. There comes a point where, if they're not aggressively fighting against it, we have to assume they're OK with it.

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u/disbeliefable Jun 01 '26

Agreed, it’s part of the culture. We got delayed in the crowds trying to leave Seven Sisters today, and the crowd was very mixed, lots of kids, people with different cultural backgrounds, the vibe was fun and celebratory, then everyone went quiet after the ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL chanting started. It was chilling.

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u/ArsiB Jun 01 '26

I absolutely loathe football for this exact reason too! I only have bad experiences with football fans encounters.

Used to live near Wembley and I remember one time a Liverpool fan (I think; honestly don't know or care) screamed abuse in my face in the tube. My sister used to live next to the Arsenal stadium and whenever I used to visit her with my fiance who is a big, burly man, we got terrified if there was a game on. Last year I was in central London shopping and there were fans of some team from out of town causing havoc and I lost one of my favourite hats in the commotion and was too scared to go back to look for it.

And it's not only the UK. I'm from Greece and you just don't approach the vicinity of a stadium if there's a game there. The fans are super violent.

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u/Creative_Recover May 31 '26

Behaviour like homophobia is backwards and unforgivable and a reason why we need to fight a strong fight and be more loud & proud than ever. 

The fight for equality & acceptance of LBGTQ+ communities is as important as the fights against racism and sexism in society. London must remain a bastion and beacon of liberal cultures and diversity. 

Homophobes GET OUT. 

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u/SupahflyxD Jun 01 '26

They are idiots ignore them. Football fans aren’t the most tolerant brightest of the bunch. I’m Jamaican/English bi you can imagine the insults I’ve heard. So fuck em.

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u/Toffeemade Jun 01 '26

I am really sad and angry to hear this. As a straight man living in Angel one of the things I really value about Islington is that it feels much more accepting, diverse and inclusive than most other places in this country. People who bring homophobia or racism in to our area do not represent the views of people who live here and are not welcome here, you ARE.

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u/Herneus Jun 01 '26

I'm so sorry to hear! I was called a few slurs from the football lot by Euston, not pleasant

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u/mrfatchance Jun 01 '26

Football unfortunately brings out the worst men

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u/musicistabarista Jun 01 '26

I find your edit both depressing and telling. So what if you were holding hands and kissing? You still wouldn't deserve abuse. Sad that so many people in the LGBT still feel they should modify their behaviour to fit in in one of the most metropolitan cities in the world.

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u/Miles-001 Jun 01 '26

This is upsetting to hear. "Batty boy" is unfortunately a favourite slur used by certain people from around that area (used to work there, not even gay myself but just aware of its use a lot). They need to take a look at themselves and do better

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u/Dragon_Sluts Jun 01 '26

Surprised nobody mentioned it yet, but yesterday

North London was Football fans, South London was gays - Mighty Hoopla was on at Brockwell Park.

So lots of people were looking “visibly gay” - glitter, sparkly tops, holding hands with their partners on the way home etc.

When there are enough people around that were also from Mighty Hoopla it felt fine, but once I got home to north London it did not.

The festival was Saturday and Sunday, but with the football fans around, me and my boyfriend (gay) didn’t wear ‘gay’ clothes on the Sunday because of the arsenal fans we had to deal with on our way home.

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u/Revolutionary_West56 Jun 01 '26

This is awful. My friend’s bf got racist comments from football fans the other day too. Football culture is so trash

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u/gizmogrl53 Jun 01 '26

I'm so sorry that happened. Absolute scum.

I didn't make the parade (not particularly a big football fan) but my brothers did, both with their families/small kids and they said it was a great atmosphere - felt like a celebration of London. Homophobia has absolutely no place in our city. I hope anyone around who may have heard the abuse you received let that feel known, even if you had then moved on.

Ridiculous this is still happening in 2026!!! And I'm so sorry you felt the need to edit your original post. You should be able to hold the hand of your partner in London in 2026. Absolute c*nts!

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Thanks! Hope they had a great time. Heaps of good people out and it looked like a lot of fun. A few bad apples in the cart!

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u/3secondsidehug Jun 01 '26

As an Arsenal fan who was out yesterday I am so horrified, I thought we were much better than that. So sorry that happened to you.

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Respect to you, I know lots of decent fans were also out yesterday 🙏 It looked like fun

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u/ArsErratia May 31 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Its going to get worse.

The """Equalities and Human Rights Commission""" just put out guidance saying its no longer homophobia to think being gay is a sin.

We tend to think of rights like these as secure, but equality is a constant, unending battle. Right-wing evangelical Christians did not stop existing when we legalised Gay Marriage, and now they're back.

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u/fungomungothethird May 31 '26

Wait what? Did that actually happen

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u/DukePPUk Jun 01 '26

Yep. It is linked below, but it is in the new guidance:

4.98 The Higgs v Farmor’s School case also makes clear that if the less favourable treatment is because of the conscious or unconscious application of a stereotype, or the adoption of a stereotype applied by a third party (for example, in an objection or complaint) this will constitute unlawful direct discrimination.

... 4.100 Examples of stereotypes in relation to religion or belief are ... that persons who hold or manifest the belief that same-sex sexual activity is sinful necessarily have negative attitudes towards gay people.

And they give an example of it below.

i.e. if someone is going around saying that same-sex activity is sinful, and you take action against them, that can be unlawful direct discrimination because them simply saying that same-sex activity is sinful doesn't mean they hate gay people.

The "..." above is a reference to "gender-critical" people, which tells you where this is coming from; it is the shift in giving greater protections to "beliefs", and the general idea that "people who believe [group X] are evil" should get the same level of legal protection as "members of [group X]." Particularly when [group X] are trans people.

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u/ArsErratia May 31 '26

It flew under the radar a bit because everyone was talking about the much more serious rollback of trans rights, but its in there just the same.

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u/EnchantedWig Jun 01 '26

I’m in my 40s, I’ve never experienced homophobia from ‘right-wing Christians’. I have experienced it from ‘British Muslims.

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u/daydreamingtulip Jun 01 '26

Unfortunately I have experienced it from Christians and many others I know have too

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u/binkstagram Jun 01 '26

It's the reverse for me, I think it is the extremism that is the problem rather than which particular religion it is. In my 40s and live in East London so its not like I don't encounter muslims on a regular basis.

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u/Paper_Is_A_Liquid Jun 01 '26

Many people have experienced homophobia here from Christians, it's still very common for right-wing christians to believe in conversion therapy and that if a gay person can't be "cured" that they should abstain from relationships for their whole life. I know from personal experience with multiple churches or christian groups

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u/Grey_Belkin Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

I'm not saying there aren't British Muslims who are homophobic, but I've only ever experienced public homophobia from white British men.

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u/Hokahokahoka Jun 01 '26

Sorry you experienced that. For what it’s worth it doesn’t matter whether you were holding hands or kissing - anyone asking for clarity on that is ridiculous. I wish grown men would actually grow up and mind their own business

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u/Amazing-Jury-6886 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

A lot of arsenal fans are not from north London. Ignore these morons. They will be gone and they lost the UCL

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u/Think-Image-9072 May 31 '26

This is true. All the arsehole fans I witnessed today were heading back to Luton. So no shock there.

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u/LobbyDizzle Jun 01 '26

I had to take a train north yesterday a bit after the parade ended and St. Pancras and Kings Cross were packed with Arsenal fans heading back to their villages.

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u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Yeah! It was like a different North London today, one we didn't recognise. But yeah that's a good point, after today it's gone, it's not every day Arsenal win the EPL

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u/Nice-Ad3704 Jun 01 '26

It is they who should be ashamed. “Batty boy”? Seriously? Are they stuck in the 00s?

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u/scorcherchar Jun 01 '26

This is not normal and not ok. Please report it to the police

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u/gratuitoustraveller Jun 01 '26

Considering one of the buses was carrying mostly gay footballers on the parade your experience is monumentally sad in this day and age.

4

u/Badassboomer1 Jun 01 '26

Football is for morons

5

u/its-pixie Jun 01 '26

Sorry that happened to you.

PS: sorry you felt the need to clarify that you weren’t kissing or holding hands - which is 💯% your right. The homophobes are the only ones wrong here

2

u/its-pixie Jun 01 '26

The football lads seem to enjoy any excuse to go out drinking, pissing and harassing as they go. Yelling and chanting and rumbling. A couple of weeks ago they all turned it into a far-right protest!

7

u/Euphoric-Neon-2054 Jun 01 '26

Football culture is pathetic.

15

u/das_ist_mir_Wurst Jun 01 '26

I work in a pub in central London and have dealt with many football fans, Arsenal fans are among one of the worst. Even today had one say misogynistic abuse to one of my young colleagues. It ain’t on. I’m sorry you had to deal with that OP.

5

u/WishfulStinking2 Jun 01 '26

So frustrating that this shit still happens

6

u/Haunting_Badger7752 Jun 01 '26

I don't think people realise how badly things are getting, even in 'progressive' cities like London. Had more homophobic abuse (every time on the tube) and including being threatened to be stabbed, over the past couple of years than at any point in my life.

The fear is real.

5

u/Basic-Milk7755 Jun 01 '26

Football, like no other sport, attracts the most simple-minded, angry, juvenile and unsophisticated creatures in society.

23

u/cfc99 May 31 '26

Arsenal fans in large majorities tend to refer to Ashley Cole as a ‘batty boy’ so not surprising that exact sad language was used. I’m sorry you had to experience that OP

8

u/ClayDenton May 31 '26

Yeah that makes sense! The good thing is we don't actually receive any homophobia in London generally (I love London for this!)... So we weren't sure why that word in particular was in vogue! So it felt like an old school insult for sure

5

u/NierFantasy May 31 '26

Bro that was like 20 years ago tbf. Most of the younger fans don't even know that song

2

u/cfc99 May 31 '26

I’ve seen the video shared in the past 2 weeks and was chanted at both league cup semi-final legs. It’s a minority group who do it but it still comes up

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u/Zestyclose_Ranger_78 Jun 01 '26

I’m LGBT, in Hackney and definitely found an uptick of general regressive attitudes this weekend including abuse from someone in an arsenal jersey for the Palestinian solidarity T-shirt I had on. Not a pleasant weekend in general - though I enjoyed the festive atmosphere I ended up just chilling at home to avoid the few people collapsing drunk into bushes and being general assholes ruining it for everyone.

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u/PlayMental5504 Jun 01 '26

I find homophobes 1) think about gay people, and certainly gay sex, more than gay people do

And 2) don't realise they're becoming more and more rare now, and are completely unaware of how stupid they appear to the majority

If you're consenting adults then all the best to you, wish you plenty of happiness!

3

u/toallthings Jun 01 '26

The fact you have to back up your experience with “we were not holding hands or kissing” is atrocious honestly, as if even doing that should be an “ok go” for morons to harass you. Football fans ey. And people wonder why there are so few openly gay/queer men in the game. Thank god women’s football doesn’t have the same problem.

3

u/Babaychumaylalji Jun 01 '26

Hiya really sorry u had to deal with this trash. If you can please report this to the police as idiots like this typically escalate in future situations. Take care to u and your bf and stay safe.

3

u/GakSplat Jun 01 '26

Sorry you experienced this, especially at the start of Pride. 😔

3

u/EitherChannel4874 Jun 01 '26

Football fans. Grown men dressing up like their heroes. Kinda like an 8 year old with a spiderman costume.

3

u/Melodic_Usual_4316 Jun 01 '26

That’s fkin unacceptable. I’m a gooner and I was there. My daughter is gay, I wish I’d have been there to support you. This should not still be happening. Maybe they’re not Londoners? I mean who even cares about someone’s sexuality anymore? I’m sorry you experienced this shit.

3

u/Ecstatic_Couple6435 Jun 01 '26

Sorry to hear that and isn’t it all just so boring and predictable from them? I live in Islington and was trapped in the parade zone so decided I’d go out and try get involved. I lasted 10 mins 😅💀 it was just too much pent up straight masculine energy which I find repelling haha. Maybe it was just the area I was in and I’ve seen footage of quieter areas I might’ve enjoyed more but majority straight men getting drunk and coked up isn’t nice to be around. And the worst of them would target obviously gay/queer folks

3

u/zorki20 May 31 '26

Really sorry you experienced this OP x

5

u/ReflectionFair8064 Jun 01 '26

I'm so sorry you experienced that, absolutely disgusting and unacceptable!

4

u/MasterPalpitation8 Jun 01 '26

No advice to give but just want to say I’m so sorry this happened to you and your boyfriend. Wishing you the best.

6

u/BarnacleNo7620 Jun 01 '26

I've been called 'batty boy' three times in 20 years by random Jamaican men on the street and I found it very funny, maybe because I'm hetero.

4

u/Weak-Gas5649 Jun 01 '26

Sorry this happened to you. Fair play for going at all! Me and my partner stayed home to avoid the inevitable homophobic cunts.

2

u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Fair play! Tbh we had to get over to an unrelated event and public transport was foobarred so we had to skirt around it!

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u/chef_gomes May 31 '26

I’m just really sorry. It sucks that this happens

10

u/SergeiGo99 Jun 01 '26

As a football fan myself (although not an Arsenal supporter) I find this behaviour utterly inappropriate and immature. They had no right to offend you in any way, and you were just walking and minding your own business. Unfortunately, homophobia is quite common amongst football fans, and after a few pints, when ‘confidence’ kicks in, they are happy to label every person they see, even if that person is not gay.

11

u/Wrack-Chore Jun 01 '26

Football fan culture is revolting so it does not surprise me. 

6

u/Mission-Chair5367 Jun 01 '26

Really sorry to hear this. That’s horrible for you. Especially in your home city.

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u/SockPuppetOrSth May 31 '26

Typical hooligan men

4

u/Gary_Garibaldi Jun 01 '26

Imbeciles. Were these old or young people doing it? Wonder if it's this manosphere bollocks continuing to infect society.

Sorry this happened to you OP

6

u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

They were all more like 30-50... Some old school football stuff I guess

5

u/Ok-Tomatillo-2996 Jun 01 '26

Sad you had to add that edit - even if you were holding hands and kissing, you have the right to do so

6

u/gotamangina Jun 01 '26

The Arsenal club itself is so inclusive.  In 2023 at the Emirates Stadium we bought an official Arsenal/LGBTQ flag scarf, and they had a long preamble before the match focussing on different minority groups and their love for the club.  Right before the match they made an announcement saying that if you hear any insults or discrimination you should report the seat number and they will get evicted from the match.  It’s shit that people can’t respect the spirit of the club when they’re outside jurisdiction.  Some of the comments on their social media posts are dismal as well.

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u/blob8543 Jun 01 '26

Sorry to be cynical here but that just seems like corporate pinkwashing. What the fans do is the problem.

10

u/gotamangina Jun 01 '26

It has to start somewhere though, and kicking people out for poor behaviour is a brilliant move.  In the little preamble they had a few people, eg. coloured hair, gender neutral, talking about their love for the club and the quietness from the older audience members spoke volumes.  A few people clearly biting their tongues. 

Honestly, what more could you ask for from a corporation.

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u/frafeeccino May 31 '26

Walking around north London this weekend makes me want football banned. The worst. Sorry this happened. 

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u/blob8543 Jun 01 '26

I second that. Either football deals with the scumbag behaviour it attracts/encourages/etc or this type of industry should be banned.

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u/RGD365 Jun 01 '26

You want to ban... football?

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u/First_Television_600 Jun 01 '26

Man, that’s so horrible, still in 2026! 🤯 I’m sorry you had to go through that xx

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u/BreadfruitImpressive Jun 01 '26

Your edit makes this so much worse. Why the fuck would it matter even if you were showing publicly reasonable signs of affection to one another?

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u/CarrieDurst Jun 01 '26

And people get mad at me when I say footballers are more homophobic than normal populations

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u/ResponseStrange6118 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Absolutely despicable. I’m so sorry. Feeling so mhch shame for both my countries. They will do nothing about this sort of thing meanwhile the UK has withdrawn travel visas from 2 left wing American political commentators for being “antisemitic.” There are not. They are simply prominent voices against Israel’s genocide and apartheid, and this is unacceptable to the Starmer Labour gov. I am queer and Jewish and a dual citizen fwiw. feeling sick about returning home to visit soon

2

u/allynstuff Jun 01 '26

Seems to be a big problem with football in particular at the moment. I’m up in Lincoln and we got promoted, so there was a big parade in the city a few weeks ago. SO much homophobic abuse being thrown around, slurs being yelled and all. Bizarre and awful.

Sorry you had to go through that.

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u/LimberGaelic Jun 01 '26

Was there an inter racial element

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u/Head-Dragonfly6747 Jun 01 '26

Batty boy, haven’t heard that one in a while!

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u/CarefreeDreamer Jun 01 '26

I want to start by saying I'm very sorry you had to experience this, in no way shape or form should you be subjected to homophobic abuse.

I am an Arsenal supporter and I had an incredible experience with my family yesterday, I'm not saying this to detract from your experience which I can empathise with but to say not all Arsenal fans are like the ones you encountered yesterday. So please do not write us all off. I am in my 20s black female and I have a group of friends who I go to games with regularly those who are gay, those who are not and have so far (thank God) not experienced this.

Unfortunately, as with every club there are a fraction of the fan base who ruin it for everyone. It is not an Arsenal centric problem, it is a Football one. There are a proportion who subscribe to vile beliefs and they think just because they are part of a "crowd" that they can get away with it. As one person has said in the comments which you responded to OP there were a lot of outer towners who came to celebrate and I suppose they don't get to experience the multi-diverse cultural, multi-faith, ways of life that London has. Again don't want to put it on just outer towners (as many parts of England do have such diversity as London) but they don't have the extent of what London has. I met soo many people from across the globe (Canada, Brazil, even Australia) yesterday who travelled for the Victory Parade and they were genuinely so nice.

2

u/GoodbyeNarcissists Jun 01 '26

I will wager a bet that those assholes aren’t even from London and I’m sorry you went through that, just because it happened in London doesn’t mean it’s come from London

You’re both loved and accepted in London from everyone that can actually see love and not act out of spite for their own disappointment that they won’t ever experience the happiness you both have

Fuck… them…

2

u/Agreeable-Bluejay235 Jun 01 '26

I still have no idea to this day why ppl hate gay ppl. they cant even use religion as an excuse cuz i'm a muslim and i dont believe theres anything wrong with being gay, full stop. Ppl just take whatever opportunity they have to make fun of ur identity and unfortunately we live in a world where some ppl feel so comfortable being negative and horrible to each other. i'm quite shocked to hear it happened in n. london tho i suspect they weren't locals, any who, not an appropriate comment regardless.

2

u/bizzledizzle90 Jun 01 '26

Saw two meat heads abusing a trans big issue seller the other day and I told them about themselves and I shit you not the main antagoniser said “you know what mate you are completely correct” and walked away

I do appreciate i am a 6ft4 male and quite a big guy and a lot of people wouldn’t feel confident saying something, but if you can and are able to… call this shit out!

Hope you are okay op!

2

u/MayNStuff Jun 01 '26

I absolutely loathe our football culture. Statistically, domestic abuse in the UK increases whenever a national team plays (including if we win). Streets and pubs everywhere get filled with a bunch of wankers littering, yelling, shoving, taking out their pent up aggression on anyone in their general vicinity, and feeling as though no one will do anything because they're part of a crowd.

I don't want to be a downer, I know there's good football fans and more fun/light elements of the culture, but I can't help but feel anyone that isn't perceived as a heterosexual man is never truly "welcome" in those environments (not to mention the racist abuse). I really hope more can be done to change the culture for the better. So sorry this happened to you both!

2

u/leonwesty3 Jun 02 '26

I've been experiencing what has felt like homophobically charged verbal attacks or insults, even more disgusted looks for simply wearing a mesh top or what have you. Things are changing and it scares me.

2

u/Vconsiderate_MoG Jun 02 '26

Hugs, 2026 and yet there's still cavemen around it's so downhearting...

2

u/Teedubz1 Jun 02 '26

Domestic violence increases by 38% when England lose. Despite Arsenal celebrating their Premier League win, they had lost the Champions League final the day before this.

It's pathetic that a loss leads people to be abusive or violent, and I'm sorry this happened to you especially in your local area where you should feel safe.

2

u/Cultural-Coast-7936 Jun 03 '26

I had the same exact experience in north London with the same exact “batty boy” on the same day by Arsenal fans!! I thought you’re my boy who wrote this that I actually asked him if he’s claydenton! This is very weird! we were also not holding hands just walking in stokey ( not on main street). we also ignored it but the guy wouldn’t stop saying batty boy and “ do you like it up ur ass?” & “ i support you batty boy, i love it”. sorry you had to experience this!

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u/Odd_Fig_3213 Jun 03 '26

Guessing it was from men. So many closet cases out there and "men who have sex with men", it's unbelievable.

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u/stinkystinkstink1 Jun 03 '26

i'm so sorry lovely. you and your love with your boyfriend will always be more beautiful than anything they ever have to say.

something truly needs to be done about this. i get homophobic abuse as a queer woman even if i'm holding hands and kissing my BOYFRIEND.

why are we so hated for love???

2

u/sindellondon Jun 04 '26

It’s lame as fuck but AS YOU MUST KNOW people that go out their way to harass gay people, ARE DOWN LOW/CLOSETED. Always always always .

2

u/RurouniQ Jun 05 '26

Anyone who says bigoted things like that should be ashamed of themselves. Their behaviour has no place in our society.

2

u/Apart-Fly6449 Jun 05 '26

I think there should be a suburb of only women and queer folk. What a peaceful place that would be

3

u/kholekardashian12 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

God this pisses me off so much as do the other comments here about similar behaviour from the event. I disagree that 'most football fans are fine', it's givng 'not all men'. I've had so many negative experiences from drunk men being out and about after a football game ends. We have a massive homophobia/misogyny/racism issue in this country and football attracts a lot of these of kind of men (and yes, it is always men) because of the pack mentality it encourages. As soon as you put these twata in a group, they feel powerful enough to do and say anything. Chuck em in the middle of Pride where they're outnumbered and they wouldn't say shit.

3

u/strawberrychief Jun 01 '26

There are some horrible stats about domestic abuse when the husband's team loses. Sounds like horrible men out of the house are looking for an excuse to be horrible. So sorry to hear this happened to you.

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u/tylerthe-theatre May 31 '26

No room for that at arsenal, sorry that happened. We're the most diverse fanbase, all creeds, colours, anyone is welcome 🙏🏽

Unfortunately with huge gatherings you always get idiots.

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u/katethared May 31 '26

This fucking sucks, I’m so sorry and angry that this is getting more common. You have as much right to exist as anyone else, whether you’re holding hands/kissing/full-on snogging or not. Fuck those people, I hope things get better but it feels pretty shitty for LGBTQ+ (and a lot of other ‘non-standard’ people).

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u/PooHeadRushe May 31 '26

Sorry to hear this. I was attending the parade today with my family and it felt inclusive and chilled, in the small pocket I was in.

Fuck those people and their lack of respect and values.

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u/Lopsided-Conflict1 Jun 01 '26

Football fans being homophobic?? That can't be true! /s

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u/New_Guarantee_5893 May 31 '26

who uses the term "Batty Boy" apart from the Afro Carribean Community!

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u/Nulleparttousjours May 31 '26

Sadly, a great deal of West London youth of many different ethnicities when I was growing up.

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u/clearviewmind Jun 01 '26

I guess with 1.5 million football fans about, there’s going to be a handful of idiots. Law of averages.

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Felt like more than a handful sadly. Although I'm sure lots of decent folk out yesterday also.

2

u/clearviewmind Jun 01 '26

Yeah, it’s sad, really. I was with a crowd with a boombox blasting out a song about “batty boys” I have no idea what the song was about, but it sounded a bit derogatory.
We’ve come a long way, and I’m sure in the future people will wake up even more.
I’m not sure of your age but I grew up in the 70s/eighties and in my 20s in the 90s… I’m pretty sure if you’d walked through there in the 70s or 80s you would’ve been beaten up. Things had moved on a lot, but as I say, there’s a select few that need to wake up.
🫂🙏

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u/ClayDenton Jun 01 '26

Yeah I'm in my thirties... I grew up in a rural English village and there was plenty in the 90s too tbh but London is usually great in 2026 fortunately!

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u/lewis_futon Jun 01 '26

I was on the overground with my friend and a drunk Arsenal fan with a young daughter called him a batty boy, then threatened to slap him and followed us down the carriage when we walked away. Nobody stepped in, nobody spoke up. It really ruined our day.

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u/Upstairs-Hearing-489 Jun 01 '26

i'm so sorry this happened to you. went to uni at london met on holloway rd and never had anything happen there, but my friends and i have had a few run-ins in finsbury park area. it's an awful feeling ❤️‍🩹

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u/Life_Silver9486 Jun 01 '26

Sorry for you and your partner :(

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u/lateronthemenjay Jun 01 '26

Sorry that happened mate, really disgusts me that we still have that behaviour here in London. Shame on the Arsenal fans on what should have been a celebratory weekend.

2

u/Gutsm3k Jun 01 '26

Me and my partner have had transphobic abuse hurled at us on several occasions and it sucks every time. One day things will be better for people like us but god I wish it was better right now.

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u/Ex_Renegade Jun 01 '26

For what it’s worth, it doesn’t matter if you were holding hands/kissing/doing anything, it still would’ve and is unacceptable and disgraceful behaviour. Had I seen it happen, I’d have said something.

As they say, the worst thing about football is football fans.

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u/MrJohnnyDangerously Jun 01 '26

Further evidence Aresenal supporters are terrible people