‘Rent Boy’? I can’t tolerate it!
As the English FA Cup heats up as it enters the 4th round (round of 32), it is getting noisy over an unexpected ‘homophobia incident’.
According to British media on the 9th (Korean time), the England Football Association (FA) issued a statement and declared a strong response to the homophobic relief incident.
The detonator of the incident was the match between Manchester City and Chelsea in the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 2022-2023 season, which took place at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City’s home stadium, that day.
During the second half of the match, which ended with Manchester City winning 4-0, it was reported that some Manchester City supporters sang slogans ridiculing homosexuals.
The FA said, “We strongly condemn the use of the term ‘rent boy’. The FA is determined to drive it (an anti-human rights action) off the field.”
A ‘rent boy’ is often referred to as a male prostitute. In English football, it usually appears when mocking the Chelsea side. According to local media, there is a origin of the slogan of ‘Rent Boy’ appearing on the soccer field. In the past, there was an incident in which a polar hooligan in Chelsea was caught shouting homophobia on the outside, but behind the scenes, he was caught prostitution with a male prostitute.
Since then, when Chelsea actively used player leasing as a means of power reorganization in the 2010s, it is said that it was used as a word mocking leasing players and then turned into a homophobic slogan.
In August of last year, a related commotion occurred in the Liverpool-Chelsea match in the 3rd round of the English Premier League (EPL) 2021-2022 season, and the English football world was upset. At the time, some Liverpool fans shouted ‘Rent Boy’ to midfielder Billy Gilmour, who was playing as a loan player for Chelsea, and bought outrage, saying, “You shouldn’t mock him as a 토토 ‘prostitute’ just because you are a loan player.”
The FA previously warned that slogans of a similar nature appeared in the third round (Man United 3-1 win) between Manchester United and Everton held on the 7th. In the midst of this, when a blatant discriminatory slogan came out in the Manchester City-Chelsea match, the ‘knife’ was pulled out.
The FA said: “We are working closely with UK police as well as prosecutors regarding the use of the term ‘rent boy’. We are working hard to make it a safe environment for everyone.”
Manchester City’s club also issued a statement immediately, saying, “We strongly condemn the actions of a minority of fans. We are proud of the inclusivity of football, and we create an environment and atmosphere where all fans are welcome and should be inclusive and can experience a great game together. Please join us in doing it,” he appealed.
In the end, it is known that the FA will request an investigation into the investigation agency as well as a fact-finding investigation into the homophobic relief incident of Man City fans.