Manchester United player Paul Scholes is being pressured to apologize after allegedly calling referee Frank De Bleeckere a “poofter” after De Bleeckere issued him a yellow card during a match on Tuesday.
Gay activist Peter Tatchell issued a press release urging disciplinary action: “If he had made a racist remark, UEFA and the Football Association would have initiated immediate disciplinary proceedings. Why the double standards? We urge Paul to apologize and to express his opposition to homophobia…There should be big fines and match suspensions for players, managers and supporters who wilfully use anti-gay insults.”
But should any homophobic remark, no matter the weight it carries, be dealt with equally? That’s the question Pink News is asking: “In the context of being carded and angry, is the insult ‘poofter’ really wilfully anti gay, or just a throw away swear word? Is there a difference, and should this difference be important to us?”
Although “poofter” is not a common insult in America, what do you think?
