“It’s important, people need to have a safe space amongst members of their own community.”
Eric Najib established Rainbow Devils, Manchester United’s officially recognised LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, in 2019.
Since then, the group has grown to over 2,000 members, appeared at Manchester pride events, and been given a permanent banner on the hoardings at Old Trafford.
This week, they have been showcased on Manchester United’s Instagram page as part of their Premier League With Pride Campaign, celebrating LGBTQ+ voices in football.
Yet, while each Premier League team is now furnished with an LGBTQ+ Supporters Group, there remain barriers around participation, discrimination, and the crucial fact that there is still yet to be an openly gay Premier League footballer.
Najib said, “Football is changing but it’s changing slowly, and there’s still instances of discrimination that go on whether it’s racism, homophobia, transphobia or sexism.
“It’s not what it was twenty years ago and that’s a positive.”
LGBTQ+ Supporters groups were first established in 2013 with Arsenal’s Gay Gooners, with Rainbow Devils being the biggest LGBTQ supporters’ group in the country.
The aim of these groups was to establish communication between LGBTQ+ members of the community and the club, increase inclusivity and foster a safe space for all fans.
Yet, these groups often face pushback from fans.
Najib said “With all groups of this nature, there’s always going to be push backs.
“Every time we do something we are proud of and put online, you get negativity from the keyboard warriors.
“People often say why do we need an LGBTQ Supporters Group? Why is there a banner at the stadium? Why is there not a banner for other things?
“There’s more positive than negative, when anyone received abuse or negativity I always urge them to concentrate in the people that have changed their mindset or that have supported us because they’re the important ones.”
According to Kick It Out, 1,398 reports of discrimination were received in 2024/25 season, representing double the number of reports received four seasons ago.
Despite not being based solely on the numbers of homophobic abuse, these reports represent a wider rise in discrimination around football, and its reluctance to embrace change and diversity.
Najib sees this more as a societal change than a sporting one, saying that:
“I do think society has changed in terms of recognizing sexuality, but twenty years ago there was this idea that straight people act in a certain way and gay people act in a certain way; in those days, if a gay character was on TV, they tended just to be sort of feminine or camp.
“Where, if I go to a United match, I’m as angry and as shouty as the next person.
“We’re not trying to take away what football is, it’s a great sport, it’s tribal, it’s competitive. It brings out the best and the worst in people.
“What we’re saying is you can be the most competitive person in the world, but it doesn’t mean you have to be prejudicial.”
According to Pride in Football, with 6% of the population identifying as LGBTQ+, an average of 2,000 LGBTQ+ individuals would be in attendance at an average Premier League game, or 5,000 to watch England play at Wembley.
Taking membership numbers of supporters groups into account, Rainbow Devils would be the only Premier League LGBTQ+ Supporters group to meet that amount.
Similarly, with 6% of the population identifying as LGBTQ+, the lack of an openly gay professional in England’s top flight remains an anomaly across the sport.
Although times have changed, it appears male footballer lags behind in openly gay players, perhaps through fear of abuse, or perhaps through precautionary tales over the years.
The weight of openly gay footballers such as Justin Fashanu, who took his own life in 1998 eight years after coming out at Leyton Orient, appears to hang heavy over English football.
The ridicule Fashanu faced appears as a representation of the abuse English footballers can, and have, faced in the past.
Najib also manages Stonewall FC, an LGBTQ+ and Allies Football club in London.
In this club, the aim is not to create an environment solely for LGBTQ+ players, but those who simply want to play football.
“Whilst we’re extremely proud of our vast number of LGBTQ+ players, we also have a sizable number of allies who don’t identify as LGBTQ+.
“We’ve got good players that wanted to play at a higher level, and they got there and they just found the environment quite toxic.
“Stonewall gives them a safe space to express themselves, and lay in a dressing room where there’s not going to be any kind of toxicity or bullying or whatever else.
“It’s a space of feeling that you can play football at a higher level, or you can play football on a lesser level if you want, and you’ll be welcomed, you won’t be judged or teased, regardless of how you act or look.”
Perhaps this is the blueprint for English professional football, creating an environment where LGBTQ+ footballers, fans, officials and managers don’t need these spaces to feel safe or to feel seen.
Najib said: “Some of our season ticket holders have really discovered their love not just for Manchester United, but for football.
“That’s what supporters clubs like us can provide, it’s a social network, it’s a way of meeting people, but it’s also somewhere to add grievances if something happens to you at a game.”
For now, the purpose of these supporters’ groups are about inclusivity, at times safety, and communication with the club.
In the future, perhaps they will bring us closer to the age of the first openly gay Premier League footballer, an age where fans don’t feel they need these groups to feel safe at games, and a time when football becomes more inclusive.