BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — All the players on a top Swedish football club were sacked after reportedly targeting the players of an opposing team with homophobic slurs, the Swedish edition of The Local reports.
According to the story, the incident occurred during a match played earlier in the fall between Sörskogens IF and the Stockholm Snipers, a club which “makes an effort to welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender players.”
Sörskogens players were allegedly heard saying, “You suck cock for 50 kronor,” “All of you have HIV” and “We’re probably going to get infected,” among other anti-gay comments, a local newspaper reported. The Snipers’ coach is quoted as saying that the atmosphere in the dressing room after the game was “unpleasant.”
In the wake of the incident, the Stockholm Football Association fined Sörskogens IF 5,000 kronor ($755) and demanded that the club’s officials attend a training course, The Local notes, adding that it’s the first time the football association has sanctioned a club for homophobic behaviour during a game.
The club’s leadership decided to up the ante and fired all the players on its top team, saying it “had no choice” because that kind of language is not appropriate anywhere.
Why you can trust Xtra
