Barton campaign gets positive backing
metro
Joey Bartons campaign to support gay footballers receives backing from football community
Joey Bartons call for footballers to support a campaign to kick homophobia out of football has received huge support today.
QPR midfielder Barton is spearheading the Right Behind Gay Footballers campaign by bookmakers Paddy Power and gay charity Stonewall which is aiming to make it easier for homosexual players to come out.
Currently there are no out gay players in professional leagues in the UK but 5,000 footballers have been sent rainbow laces they can wear this weekend to show their support for the cause.
Barton, 31, started the ball rolling by wearing the bootlaces in his sides 1-0 win over Birmingham in the Championship on Saturday.
Hull of an effort: Meyler shows his boots laced up today (Picture: Twitter)Hull of an effort: Meyler shows his boots laced up today (Picture: Twitter)
And now the likes of Premier League Hull have followed suit, with Irish midfielder David Meyler tweeting a photo of his own rainbow-laced boots.
He wrote on Twitter: Im supporting the #RBGF Ive got the rainbow laces in my boots!
England blind football team captain and Paralympian Keryn Seal added: I definitely want to be rocking a set of the @stonewalluk rainbow laces for my next England game Great idea. Hope the pros get behind it.
Ex-England midfielder Matt Le Tissier and female player Steph Houghton, who played for Great Britain at last years Olympics, have also thrown their weight behind the scheme on Twitter.
Barton himself has called on players to join the rainbow laces movement, adding: Sexuality in sport should not be an issue in the 21st century.
Fans up and down the country voiced their support online, with Barton receiving hundreds of responses from players interested in getting some rainbow laces themselves.
Joey Bartons call for footballers to support a campaign to kick homophobia out of football has received huge support today.
QPR midfielder Barton is spearheading the Right Behind Gay Footballers campaign by bookmakers Paddy Power and gay charity Stonewall which is aiming to make it easier for homosexual players to come out.
Currently there are no out gay players in professional leagues in the UK but 5,000 footballers have been sent rainbow laces they can wear this weekend to show their support for the cause.
Barton, 31, started the ball rolling by wearing the bootlaces in his sides 1-0 win over Birmingham in the Championship on Saturday.
Hull of an effort: Meyler shows his boots laced up today (Picture: Twitter)Hull of an effort: Meyler shows his boots laced up today (Picture: Twitter)
And now the likes of Premier League Hull have followed suit, with Irish midfielder David Meyler tweeting a photo of his own rainbow-laced boots.
He wrote on Twitter: Im supporting the #RBGF Ive got the rainbow laces in my boots!
England blind football team captain and Paralympian Keryn Seal added: I definitely want to be rocking a set of the @stonewalluk rainbow laces for my next England game Great idea. Hope the pros get behind it.
Ex-England midfielder Matt Le Tissier and female player Steph Houghton, who played for Great Britain at last years Olympics, have also thrown their weight behind the scheme on Twitter.
Barton himself has called on players to join the rainbow laces movement, adding: Sexuality in sport should not be an issue in the 21st century.
Fans up and down the country voiced their support online, with Barton receiving hundreds of responses from players interested in getting some rainbow laces themselves.
