This article is based on the views of 2,663 association football fans, collected via an online survey from March 2020 to April 2020, regarding the presence of homosexually-themed language at men’s professional football matches across the United Kingdom. The results indicate that whilst 95% would support a gay player at their club, 41% have heard language they interpret as malicious or toxic, while 37% believe it is not intentionally hostile and ascribe it as playful and humorous banter. The article subsequently addresses what appears to be a paradox: football fans challenge popular accusations that they are homophobic but also recognize the presence of homosexually-themed language that emphasizes heteronormativity, irrespective of how it is interpreted by other fans.

本文基于2020年3月至2020年4月通过在线调查收集的2,663个协会足球迷的意见，这些意见涉及全英男子职业足球比赛中是否存在同性恋主题语言。结果表明，尽管95％的人会在俱乐部支持男同性恋者，但41％的人曾听过他们将其解释为恶意或有毒的语言，而37％的人认为这不是故意敌对，并且将其归为嬉戏和幽默的玩笑。文章随后解决了一个似乎是自相矛盾的问题：足球迷们挑战大众的指控，即他们是同性恋者，但他们也承认存在强调异规范性的同性恋主题语言，而与其他球迷的解释方式无关。