Italian Soccer Never Sounded So Homophobic

categories: International Gay Rights, LGBT Sports

Published August 26, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT

Lippi

The coach who led Italy to win the 2006 World Cup in soccer has a message for openly gay soccer players: go play something else instead.

Marcello Lippi, the coach of Italy's national soccer team, went on record to say that openly gay soccer players would be bad for morale, create conflict among team members, and be perceived negatively by fans. But, of course, he doesn't want anyone accusing him of being homophobic.

Lippi told an Internet television program that he would purposely not choose openly gay players to play on his soccer team. This comes after comments previously made by Lippi where he said that no gay people play soccer, and that in his 40 years of coaching, he's never met anyone gay. And if you believe that, I think Lippi's got a bridge to sell you....

Meanwhile, Italian LGBT organization Arcigay blasted Lippi for fueling the type of homophobia that has made sports culture - particularly international soccer - so damaging for LGBT people.

"We are tired of hearing politicians, singers and coaches who fuel... a climate that is by now poisoned by fear and suspicion," Arcigay folks said. "We don't want to be afraid any more, and we hope that people in the public eye will have the courage to affirm the dignity of everyone to live their own lives, their relations and loves in broad daylight."

Lippi's comments come just two weeks after a survey found that soccer, specifically in the U.K. but also throughout Europe, is "institutionally homophobic" and that fans regularly use anti-LGBT insults to characterize their opponents. Nothing like having a major public figure and coach like Lippi reinforce that survey with boneheaded comments straight out of the 1930s.

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Comments (4)

It's a shame that Marcello Lippi is homophobic, thus responsbile for helping to make international soccer intolerant against LGBT people. However, Acigay did the correct thing by stating that the famous coach was wrong for saying that LGBT people aren't worthy of being on a soccer team. The culture surrounding soccer in Europe must improve because LGBT people are worthy of being soccer players for their country.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 08/26/2009 @ 02:00PM PT
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This soccer coach needs a good socking.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 08/26/2009 @ 09:48PM PT
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SO very typical... I cant understand why people are such idiots. It seems that to everyone we are not worthy of anything but death and dehumanization. It is such a shame because LGBT tend to be far more athletic and gain more achievments than heterosexual people. Perhaps they are just jelous they are not as good.

Posted by Chris Marshall on 08/26/2009 @ 11:09PM PT
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Comments like his are proof that the river of ignorance and denial can be easily navigated by any fool with a raft and an oar. One can only hope that people, who are as afraid as this man is, will wake up to the fact that this life is big enough for all of us...

Posted by Lucy Meskill on 08/27/2009 @ 08:53AM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.