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Doctor Who and Marvel star debuts baby bump in glamorous red carpet appearance.
Virgin Radio
2 Jul 2021, 10:50
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just don’t like football), you probably watched England’s incredible victory over Germany at the Euros on Tuesday. If you were really lucky, you might have even been at Wembley to see Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane score in-person…
One of those lucky fans was Joe, who is co-chair of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ football supporters group, Gay Gooners, and who also identifies as queer and non-binary.
After the match, Joe tweeted to express their joy at the atmosphere in the stadium. Despite being ‘absolutely petrified’ before the game because it was the first match they have attended ‘in full makeup and overtly queer (not just camp)’, they found the atmosphere welcoming and had some great chats with other fans:
Amazingly, England midfielder Jordan Henderson saw their tweet, and responded, saying that he was glad Joe enjoyed the game and that ‘no one should be afraid to go and support their club or country because football is for everyone no matter what’:
The replies to Joe's tweet were full of other fans expressing their support for them and Jordan, with one transgender football coach commenting that actions like the footballer's ‘literally change lives’:
Joe spoke to Virgin Radio Pride about how they felt when the midfielder replied:
‘It was just very surreal in honesty but it’s really superb to see players raising visibility and actively support inclusion. A lot of queer people have had feelings of being excluded from football when growing up and tweets like Jordan’s just help create a more welcoming & inclusive environment. Hopefully I’ll be back at Wembley next week for an England semi-final!’
But Jordan’s supportive tweet is not the only gesture which members of the England team made towards the LGBTQ+ community on Tuesday.
During the game, England Captain Harry Kane wore a rainbow Captain’s armband, to coincide with Pride month drawing to a close.
The England Team also tweeted a picture of the armband, commenting that the whole England team ‘stand in allyship with LGBTQ+ communities around the world’:
Although the relationship between football and the LGBTQ+ community still has a long way to develop, gestures like these help to make fans like Joe, who are also members of the LGBTQ+ community, feel more included in the beautiful game.
For more LGBTQ+ related content, check out Virgin Radio Pride, our pop-up station for the summer. You can listen to Virgin Radio Pride UK on DAB in London, online or via the Virgin Radio app.
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