The Football Supporters' Federation will be running an article in the next issue of The Football Supporter (out in the new year) on the somewhat prickly issue of the rights and wrongs of offensive terrace chants. Naturally there's not going to be anything like a consensus, because what one person considers banter could easily disgust or offend someone else, but we're keen to canvas a range of views on the subject to help make the piece more informed, so will be hitting a few forums of clubs up and down the divisions to gauge opinion.
We're all aware of the modern day controversial songs (Adebayor's elephant washing, Sol Campbell's Judas song, Hillsborough/Heysel/Munich references) but where do you draw the line? Large scale racist chanting has been all but eradicated from stadia, but what about homophobic songs? Are players fair game for off the field indiscretions, or should their private life be off limits? What can and can't (or should and shouldn't) you sing about players, managers and referees? What songs do you baulk at joining in with yourself? Is it something that you've grown out of, or had an experience that made you re-assess what you sing in the ground? We'd like to know.
If this topic's been covered before, please point me in its general direction - ta.
We're all aware of the modern day controversial songs (Adebayor's elephant washing, Sol Campbell's Judas song, Hillsborough/Heysel/Munich references) but where do you draw the line? Large scale racist chanting has been all but eradicated from stadia, but what about homophobic songs? Are players fair game for off the field indiscretions, or should their private life be off limits? What can and can't (or should and shouldn't) you sing about players, managers and referees? What songs do you baulk at joining in with yourself? Is it something that you've grown out of, or had an experience that made you re-assess what you sing in the ground? We'd like to know.
If this topic's been covered before, please point me in its general direction - ta.