Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp demands ‘idiot’ football fans stop their disgusting homophobic chants
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has demanded that “idiot” football fans stop hounding players with homophobic chants.
Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour, 20, on loan at Norwich, faced cruel chants of “Chelsea rent boy” during last Saturday’s Premier League match.
Liverpool branded the jabs “offensive and inappropriate” – and now the club’s manager has called such songs “unnecessary”.
Klopp sat down with founder of Kop Outs!, the team’s LGBT+ supporters wing, Paul Amann, to discuss the Gilmour being targeted.
“I never understand why you would sing a song if it was against something in a football stadium,” Klopp said in the interview published Thursday afternoon (19 August).
Jürgen Klopp met with @LFC_LGBT this week to discuss the incident of homophobic chanting at Norwich City.
The pair discuss the impact of such chants on LGBT+ supporters, why they should not occur again, and the importance of inclusivity. #RedTogether pic.twitter.com/J5Axce1PqR
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 19, 2021
“I never got that. I never liked it. In our case, we have probably the best songbook in the world. It’s easy to decide not to sing the song anymore.
“So, we can decide now, this is not our song anymore. I’m not sure if people listen to me but it would be nice. I don’t want to hear it anymore, for so many reasons.”
Jürgen Klopp: ‘If you think what you sing, you are an idiot’
Klopp added that the chants do little to actually motivate the players. “It’s definitely a waste of time,” he said.
“When they start singing ‘Bobby Firmino’, ‘Mo Salah’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ this kind of stuff, that gives you goosebumps and a push.
“The other songs are completely a waste of time and if you think what you sing, you are an idiot.”
Billy Gilmour of Norwich City during the pre-season friendly between Norwich City and Gillingham at Carrow Road. (James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
Kick It Out, which works to combat discrimination in football, has previously condemned the chant.
The group tweeted in 2019: “The ‘rent boy’ chants have been directed at Chelsea for years, with little action taken by The Football Association or police – and that must not continue.
“We are absolutely clear: the chant is homophobic and must be treated as such.”
The Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England, has vowed to drive the “rent boy” slur out of football altogether, saying it is comparable to racist abuse.
