Phoenix fans follow the rainbow
Amid a sea of yellow, a rainbow flag will proudly fly at the core of the Wellington Phoenix’s fan base tonight.
Auckland-based Phoenix fan John Palethorpe has created an initiative called the ‘‘Rainbow Fever’’ which will see the rainbow colours of the LGBTQ community flying at home games from now on. He will also have 1000 Rainbow Fever stickers to hand out which carry the tagline ‘‘We don’t care which team you play for’’.
The idea came after he had a confrontation with another Phoenix fan at a Phoenix game at QBE Stadium in Auckland in March.
The person made a racist comment about one of the Phoenix players, before labelling a Newcastle Jets player as ‘‘gay’’ because he stayed down feigning injury after a challenge.
Palethorpe confronted the man, but wrote in a blog post about how the man did not back down from his comments.
Palethorpe told those sorts of comments were deeply hurtful, but it was also an issue if they went unchallenged.
‘‘I’m a member of the LBGTQ community and when you hear these words from someone supporting the same team as me and wearing the same colours, using language which makes me not a person to them, it makes me an insult. My life is an insult to that person.
‘‘Most reasonable people would look at that kind of behaviour and say it’s not on, but when you’re in the crowd it can be that ‘just ignore him and it will stop’.
‘‘But if you’re the guy who is slinging homophobia or slinging racism or misogyny or any kind of bigotry, if you’re in a crowd of people singing songs and supporting the same team and make one of those comments and no-one calls you on it, for you that’s comfort.
‘‘They can say ‘no-one has called me out on it, I don’t see what your problem is’. It makes them feel safe. If you’re part of the community they’re targeting, it makes you feel small because you think to yourself ‘how many people agree with him? I don’t see anyone arguing here’.’’
The initiative comes in light of Manchester City player Raheem Sterling allegedly being racially abused by Chelsea fans in the English Premier League last weekend.
The timing was a coincidence for Palethorpe, who has been planning the initiative for some time.
The Rainbow Fever idea was about ensuring all people felt welcome at Phoenix games and had been embraced by the Yellow Fever supporters group.
‘‘It’s not just about being antihomophobia, it’s about being welcoming to the community. One of the best things you can do to do that is to be very visual. The Fever Zone is well known for its flags, so we’ve got a new flag for Rainbow Fever to go up in the zone and it will hopefully be there at every game.’’
The move was supported by Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante.
‘‘It’s brilliant. We’ve got an amazing supporter base and to take on initiatives like this is fantastic.’’
There have been incidents of racist abuse in the A-League over the years, including Durante’s former team-mate Paul Ifill in 2012 and Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young this season.
‘‘From my time in the A-League there probably hasn’t been too many incidents of homophobia or racism. Maybe there have been a handful, if that,’’ Durante said.
‘‘If they [fans] hear anything they should report it. We want to get those types of people out of the game. There’s no place for that. Credit to anyone who sees it or hears it and takes action.’’
If people do not want to directly confront someone or be seen to be reporting them, at Westpac Stadium they can text 5454 to alert security of abusive behaviour.
The Phoenix have been on the front foot on diversity in recent years. Their new crest, created last year, includes the Ma¯ ori phrase E Rere Te Keo as they look to embrace Ma¯ ori culture more.
They also have the Football Diversity and Inclusion Programme between the club and several community groups which aims to foster inclusivity through sport. Part of that sees season tickets and free public transport to games for recently resettled refugees and people from low socio-economic communities in Wellington.
Liam Hyslop
What: A-League, round eight
Where and when: Westpac Stadium, Wellington, tonight 7.35pm
TAB: Wellington $1.75, Central Coast $4.20, draw $3.70
Phoenix: Filip Kurto, Mandi, Ryan Lowry, Dylan Fox, Mitch Nichols, Nathan Burns, David Williams, Liberato Cacace, Alex Rufer, Michal Kopzcynski, Louis Fenton, Sarpreet Singh, Tom Doyle, Oliver Sail, Roy Krishna, Andrew Durante (c), Max Burgess, Steven Taylor
Mariners: Jack Clisby, Jake McGing, Antony Golec, Andrew Hoole, Michael McGlinchey, Connor Pain, Adam Pearce, Aiden O’Neill, Kye Rowles, Josh Macdonald, Peter Kekeris, Matt Millar, Matt Simon (c), Kalifa Cisse, Jacob Melling, Mario Shabow, Joe Gauci, Jordan Murray