Joey Barton joins ‘Football v Homophobia’ campaign
By Sam Rigby
Joey Barton has joined the international campaign to push homophobia out of football.
The Queens Park Rangers player – who has spoken out against homophobia numerous times before – has joined the ‘Football v Homophobia’ campaign, saying that sexual orientation “shouldn’t even be an issue in this day and age”.
He told QPR’s official website: “It shouldn’t even be an issue in this day and age. It’s completely irrelevant what anybody’s sexual orientation is. People should be judged purely on what they represent as a human being. If they are good at what they do, they’re good at what they do.
“What sexual orientation they are isn’t anybody’s business but their own. As long as someone is a good person and treats people fairly, that’s all they should be judged on.
“The onus is on football, as the number one sport in society, to set the tone. We can be better at it, we can be better at tackling issues, but if we tackle them correctly it can lead to a lot of enlightenment and lead to people’s attitudes changing,” he added.
The 31-year-old said that he hopes that campaigns like this won’t be necessary in the future.
“Hopefully that day will come,” he said.
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