Wolves is highlighting its zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of any kind ahead of the game against Chelsea this Christmas Eve.
At the same fixture last season, arrests were made by West Midlands Police for homophobic chanting, specifically the ‘rent boy’ chant which has historically been heard in matches against Chelsea, or towards players with connections to the London club.
Wolves were also fined £100,000 by the Football Association for ‘failure to ensure supporters do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation’.
In addition, the club was issued with an Action Plan by the FA that remains in place for the entirety of the 2023/24 season, which includes increasing awareness of unacceptable behaviour and promoting how to report discrimination at Molineux.
Ahead of the fixture, it is important that all supporters understand that the ‘rent boy’ chant is defined as a homophobic slur by the Crown Prosecution Service – the main public agency for prosecuting crimes in England and Wales – and therefore a hate crime and a prosecutable offence.
Furthermore, supporters who are not prosecuted by police or issued a Football Banning Order are still at risk of being banned from all Wolves matches if deemed to have contravened Wolves’ Acceptable Behaviour Policy, which can be viewed by clicking here.
Talking about the chant’s classification as a hate crime in January 2022, former director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Max Hill QC said: “Hate crime has no place within society, let alone sport. This is vile and disgusting behaviour, and the CPS stands with the majority of the public who want to see this stamped out.
“Some may argue it is harmless banter, but it means people who are being discriminated against feel less welcome to enjoy a match and support their team in person.
“Along with racist slurs, we have reconfirmed that homophobic chants are unacceptable and could be subject to prosecution if there is sufficient evidence after a police investigation.
“As a mark of how seriously we take this offending, we will always ask for harsher sentences as it amounts to a hate crime.”
Ahead of today’s fixture, Wolves general manager for football operations, Matt Wild, said: “At Wolves, we are committed to tackling discrimination in all forms, and in this case specifically educating supporters around homophobia and the ‘rent boy’ chant, which is a criminal offence and has been for nearly two years.
“It is important for supporters to understand that arrests have been made, and several individuals have been prosecuted, for use of the ‘rent boy’ slur at football matches.
“Homophobic chanting is offensive and wholly unacceptable. Hearing discriminatory language negatively impacts people’s experiences of football and is also in direct opposition to the values of Wolves.
“We hope our supporters will continue to call out hateful and homophobic behaviour, and as a club we will continue to campaign for inclusivity in football and society and tackle discriminatory abuse, whether inside stadiums or online.”
For more information on how to report and incident or discrimination at Molineux, please click here.
Anyone who has experienced a football-related hate crime, or has information about an offence, should make a formal report by calling 101 or via the Live Chat service on the West Midlands Police website.
On matchday, fans are encouraged if they see or hear racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory or antisocial behaviour to report what they see or experience to a matchday steward, or text the Not In Our Pack text line on 07723 479887 and start the message with WOLVES.
