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Just before Christmas, one of the most influential England players of all time was at Wembley to collect her legacy cap, writing on Instagram that she felt “very proud”.

I was thrilled to see the recognition for Lianne Sanderson – Lioness #162 – and delighted for her again last month when she was named as the new host of talkSPORT’s Women’s Football Show.

 

 

We’ve been friends for a few years, starting when Sky Sports worked with a charity called Sport Allies on a short film project which profiled Lianne. Our homepage headline was ‘Strength of a Lioness’ because her tenacious spirit simply radiated on screen.

That came to mind for LGBT+ History Month, which is also the annual Month of Action for Football v Homophobia (FvH), a campaign I love working on.

The activations are closely linked, not least in the sport we all love. Down the years, women like Lily Parr, Moya Dodd, Leeann Dempster, Hope Powell, Casey Stoney and Lianne have all set examples through their authenticity, despite knowing that being out would bring more discrimination to their door.

Every February, more stories from the community that have previously been untold are unearthed, and everyone in football is asked to take a vocal stand against homophobia, lesbophobia and other forms of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

 

Origin stories

The time of this all being taboo is thankfully over. Women in Football and FvH both trace their origin stories back to a similar time in the late 2000s, when misogyny and homophobia (and they often manifest together) were deeply uncomfortable topics for those in the male-dominated game.

By late 2013, equal marriage had been passed into law in England and Wales; the creation of Rainbow Laces was helping to break down barriers in men’s football; and we had a few trailblazers such as Lianne, by now playing in the US and open about her sexuality.

This was also when Twitter was taking off in Britain in a big way, bringing people together but also allowing users to visibly fire off opinions and sometimes abuse towards anyone else – often famous people, and usually women.

Lianne would go on to star at the 2015 World Cup and play for Italian giants Juventus. When we interviewed her for the Sport Allies film in 2019, she said: “People make comments about me, and they don't know anything about me."

Despite that, and to her immense credit, she has roared her way into football media, striding past the hyenas who lurk in the shadows of social media.

The attacks and pile-ons of recent weeks have been brutal for women in an industry where most journalists and broadcasters need to be out there promoting their work.

 

 

Throw in something else that the haters can use to tear into you, such as being LGBTQ+, and the experience (with an emphasis on ‘X’) is even more grim.

In October, Lianne called out homophobic abuse she received for simply predicting that Manchester United would finish above Chelsea in the Premier League. More than three months later, it’s looking tight but the table still supports her opinion.

Current WSL stars are being similarly targeted, and it’s not just based on their performances on the pitch. Last summer, Kick It Out shared research from a pilot study into social media abuse, undertaken by Signify around this time last year.

The report said: “Off-pitch events such as the transfer window, players’ personal relationships, and their previous club allegiances created key flashpoints. The findings commissioned also identified peaks of homophobic and misogynistic abuse targeting several high-profile WSL players.”

 

Front foot

That’s why for this 15th annual FvH Month of Action, we’re asking people to get back on the front foot and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with legends like Lianne and so many others in football who are facing anti-LGBTQ+ abuse, which may be exacerbated by another form of discrimination like sexism.

Call it out, report it, counter it safely and constructively… whatever action you take, make it a decisive one. The hate of yesteryear that meant so many of us stayed in the closet is not ancient history. A lot of it lingers on, especially in football.

In addition to that, what makes LGBT+ History Month an uplifting time and also fascinating each February is the celebration of community.

For the fifth consecutive year, an annual FvH Awards event is being held to recognise inspirational inclusion leaders – join us at the National Football Museum in Manchester on 23 February. That’s alongside all the matchdays and tournaments dedicated to the campaign up and down the country, plus other activations.

Meanwhile, if there’s a lesbian leader or queer pioneer out there who has made the game more beautiful, it’s a great opportunity to help share that story with a wider audience. Maybe that person who was pushing things forward was you!

Some superb role models we know of in England include Joanie Evans at Hackney Women FC, Hayley Wood-Thompson at Cheshunt FC Women, and FIFA and WSL referee Stacey Pearson. It would be wonderful to welcome a few more, from different generations.

I’ll leave you with another Instagram post from Lianne – the follow-up to her solo snap with her special edition Lionesses cap.

 

 

She shared a second picture alongside her fiancee Ellis. “Having a strong woman behind me has just taken me to another level,” wrote Lianne. “You encourage me to work and take every opportunity.”

For all of us, our passion for football sustains so much of our spirit when the fight for equality is wearing us down. But it’s not enough to keep us resilient forever. We also need the confidence that comes from love, allyship and being part of a team.

Many LGBTQ+ people in the game are still affected by the attitudes of the past, but the new wave of homophobia online and offline is hurting us all. It’s time for action.

• Jon Holmes is a football journalist who is the founder and lead of Sports Media LGBT+ and a writer for Outsports.com and Sky Sports. He is a member of Women in Football. For more information about the Football v Homophobia and how to support the campaign in the February Month of Action, and beyond, visit the website.

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