The landscape of football fandom is changing – but incidents like the one at Millwall show there’s a way to go

Following nine long months of football behind closed doors, fans were expected to be elated at the chance to watch their team play pitch-side once more. Unsurprisingly most were, and those watching at home were equally pleased to see the back of fake crowd noises. Yet at Championship side Millwall, this joy was overshadowed.  

Rather than getting behind the team at the first chance they had, the fans instead decided to boo players that took the knee as part of the Premier League’s collective protest against racial injustice and systemic discrimination. A stand of solidarity that was supported and well received elsewhere, Millwall fans decided this was the moment they wanted to make their feelings clear.  

A statement from the Millwall Supporters’ Club claimed that these fans were not motivated by racism, rather they were expressing their disdain that the “extreme political views” of the Black Lives Matter movement have a place in football. Despite admitting he hadn’t seen the incident at hand, cabinet minister George Eustice was criticised by anti-discrimination body Kick It Out for “providing shelter to racists”. He failed to condemn Millwall supporters and shared that, “my personal view is that Black Lives Matter is actually a political movement that is different to what most of us believe in,  which is standing up for racial equality. But each individual can take their own choices about how they reflect this.”  

A club keen to shake off its reputation for racism, Millwall expressed its dismay and sadness at the events, with defender Mahlon Romeo quick to condemn his fans: “I feel really low – probably the lowest I’ve felt in my time at this club.” He added: “What they’ve done is booed and condemned a peaceful gesture which was put in place to highlight, combat and stop any discriminatory behaviour and racism.”  

This isn’t the first time that the team has made the headlines. A century since fans threw missiles at opposition goalkeeper John Cooper, incidents include throwing concrete at a linesman, injuring police officers after a play-off defeat to Birmingham, and attacks on referees.  

It is easy to make Millwall scapegoats, but this incident isn’t isolated. Rather it’s a microcosm of a wider issue in football: a small minority of fans are still reluctant for the sport to be a force for good. In the last two years alone a Chelsea fan got a life ban for “racially abusive language” towards Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, a number of England’s players were racially abused during a Euro 2020 qualifying win in Montenegro, a video of West Ham fans singing an antisemitic song was shared online and a Tottenham fan was banned for throwing a banana at a player on the pitch. It’s crucial at this point to note that these fans absolutely do not represent the majority. However, as is so often the case in these situations, the minority makes the most noise.  

Take, for example, Jordan Henderson’s recent post on social media. “Football is a game for everyone”, wrote the Liverpool captain as he posted a photo wearing his rainbow laces armband in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Yet the comments below the post suggested otherwise. Some fans posted homophobic messages, while others said they were “ashamed” of their club or were unfollowing him.  

Also this weekend, presenter and pundit Alex Scott was trending on Twitter once more, as she received a slew of sexist comments for simply doing her job. “What does Alex Scott know about football?” trolls would ask, but it only takes a quick Google search of her honours to realise that the answer to that question is a lot.  

Unfortunately, it appears that this isn’t a surface issue with a quick fix, but relates to deep-seated and historical views of belonging within the sport. Research suggests the fight towards equality is impeded by the fact that “traditional notions of whiteness and masculinity continue to pervade throughout football fandom”. As a small number of fans try to keep the sport for themselves, there is no doubt that the landscape of football will continue to change for the better regardless. Footballers will continue to show leadership to the issue. The majority of fans will continue to fight for all to feel welcome.  

Throughout history, positive change has always been met with a degree of reluctance, so perhaps this is a sign that change is coming. After all, football is a game for everyone. No one should feel uncomfortable supporting the team they love. We’re moving into a new era of football fandom, one where there is no place for the mentality of old.