I’ve been a long time reader of this forum for years, and don’t usually comment - but as a gay man and long-time season pass holder, I’ve found myself quietly reflecting about this story a lot over the last few days.
I wasn’t at the game in question and don’t know the chanting being referred to, but it reminds me of an incident at the MKM earlier in the season that the club handled exceptionally well.
Throughout the first half of a match, a fan seated a few rows behind me repeatedly called one of the opposition players a ‘fa*got’, in a way that made me wince a little inside. Nobody challenged him on this and to be fair, I didn’t either - I’ve been to enough football matches and I’ve heard much worse over the years. My sister, however - always one to stand up for what she thinks is right - decided to speak to a steward about the incident at half time, although we didn’t know exactly where the individual was sitting.
I know the stewards at the stadium are often maligned, but they took the information, placed a steward at the front of the stand, and quietly watched the crowd during the second half. When the incident happened again, he discreetly acknowledged my sister, and a steward discreetly had a word with the individual concerned. The chanting stopped and that was the end of the matter.
I share this because there’s obviously a huge amount to be proud of about the club at the moment - Wembley will stay with me and my family forever. But for me, that one moment and action taken by the club also made me deeply proud to be from Hull and follow Hull City - and restored my faith that the game and society are slowly moving in the right direction.
It saddens me that there are still small sections of football supporters and wider society who are intolerant of others or don’t realise the impact their words can have. It saddens me that I have many LGBT friends who don’t follow football, because, probably coloured by their experiences at school, they still think football stadiums aren’t places for people like them. And it saddens me that, statistically on average, at least one member of our own squad will be gay, but clearly still cannot be open about that publicly. I like to think that in 2026 and seeing the camaraderie in our squad, they’re open with their teammates, and nobody cares.
Football has given me some of the most joyous moments of my life, including that extra-time, winning goal just over a week ago. I hope that in future, nobody feels the need to self-exclude from the game because of who they are and who they love.