A court has convicted four UK soccer fans of public order offenses after they shouted homophobic abuse at a match. The West Ham fans, all in the 20s, shouted the comments at Brighton and Hove Albion supporters.
The match was held at West Ham’s home ground, the London Stadium, on 1 February. There are currently no openly gay or bi men playing at the top of professional football in the UK.
However, Brighton fans and players often get homophobic abuse because of the city’s large LGBT+ community. London’s Metropolitan Police arrested two men – Thomas Hill, 25, of Slough and Samuel Marshall, 21 of Hornchurch – on the day of the game.