Homophobia, hate crime and men’s professional football

English (men’s) football has traditionally been a hostile environment for sexual minorities. Gay male footballers, or even those suspected of being gay – have been excluded, marginalised, and subordinated from the game by men attempting to (re)prove and (re)establish their heteromasculinity. Over the past two decades, however, attitudes towards homosexuality have seen a marked improvement in the UK, and across much of the Western world. While there remain claims that sport – and English men’s football, in particular – is slower to adopt social change, a significant body of research has documented how football is becoming increasingly acceptant and inclusive of homosexuality. In this chapter we outline some of this research, before outlining some of the ongoing issues with respect to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (HBT) in the professional game—paying particular attention to Kick It Out’s annual reporting statistics.